Last week we got word that 360 employees of the National Forest Service in Montana have been let go. KGEZ 20-20 News has been in contact with local and regional Forest Service offices, and we’re being told they either have no specific information or they’re not authorized to comment.
Our inquiries have landed us with this explanation from an unnamed USDA spokesperson…and we quote, here from an email:
“Secretary Rollins fully supports the President’s directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s many services to the American people. We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy.
As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service. To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters. Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding. It’s unfortunate that the Biden administration hired thousands of people with no plan in place to pay them long term. Secretary Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted.”
