What GAO Found
In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a plan to reorganize the department, including relocating thousands of staff positions from the National Capital Region to five hub locations across the country. In the spring of 2026, all eight USDA mission areas and several agencies announced reorganization plans, including relocating certain agency functions. The department’s actions are the subject of federal litigation seeking to stop USDA from implementing its reorganization plan.
Five Hub Locations and Other Selected Relocations from the National Capital Region Planned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
USDA’s workforce decreased by 20 percent from December 2024 through March 2026, from about 91,000 employees to about 73,000. Individual USDA agencies decreased from 12 percent (Forest Service) to 41 percent (National Institute of Food and Agriculture).
The extent to which USDA conducted and considered analysis before announcing the department’s reorganization is unknown. Several leading practices can help agencies conduct appropriate analyses and make sound decisions when they reorganize and relocate staff, including practices related to planning for agency reforms, conducting economic analysis, assessing management of federal real property assets, and strategic workforce planning. USDA did not respond to our requests for information on the analyses the department conducted to inform its 2025 reorganization plan. Thus, Congress and the public do not have information on the extent to which USDA examined issues such as how the reorganization could impact service delivery, the economic effects of the reorganization, or how to protect taxpayers’ dollars in disposing of property through the reorganization.
Why GAO Did This Study
USDA plays a critical role supporting U.S. agriculture, overseeing food safety, promoting rural development, and providing food and nutrition benefits. In 2025, USDA began a broad reorganization and relocation effort at the same time as it was taking steps to reduce the size of its workforce, such as offering incentives for employees to voluntarily resign or retire, in response to presidential directives.
GAO was asked to review USDA’s reorganization plan and recent workforce decreases. This report discusses (1) USDA’s reorganization plan, (2) recent changes to USDA’s workforce, and (3) leading practices that apply to planning and implementing federal agency reorganizations, including relocations.
GAO analyzed laws, reports, and other agency documents related to the reorganization of USDA; analyzed federal workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management to assess changes in USDA’s workforce; and reviewed past GAO reports to identify leading practices for agency reforms and to describe changes following prior agency relocation efforts.
GAO previously reported on USDA’s 2019 relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Following these moves, more than half of these agencies’ staff left, affecting workforce experience levels and composition and agency productivity. Two years after these relocations, overall staffing levels and productivity had generally returned to previous levels.
For more information, contact Steve Morris at morriss@gao.gov.
Source: GAO Reports & Testimonies · 2026-11-09