USDA relocates expert economists, researchers who challenge Trump policies: report

/*mists and researchers whose work challenges President Trump's policies out of Washington D.C., Politico reported Wednesday. Almost all researchers who work on the economic effects of climate change, trade policy and food stamps in the agency are being moved out of the capital in what they described to Politico as a political crackdown. Employees of the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) were reportedly told last year by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that most of the agency would be relocated outside the capital. On March 5, the department began notifying people who were allowed to stay in Washington but didn’t provide a comprehensive list, only telling employees in person whether they had made the cut. Current and former employees independently made a list, covering all 279 people on staff, which reportedly found that 76 are being allowed to stay in the capital. Perdue, however, denied the relocations were political. “We don’t undertake these relocations lightly, and we are doing it to improve performance and the services these agencies provide,” Perdue said in a statement to The Hill. “We will be placing important USDA resources closer to many stakeholders, most of whom li0-ve and work far from Washington, D.C.”...MORE