Recent Changes by DOGE That Could Affect Food Safety
As mandated by executive order, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been combing through the federal government’s workforce getting rid of any “non-essential” employees. This may have been an issue when it came to the recent overhaul of certain agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The White House Fact Sheet states that there are over 2.4 million workers in the federal government. This does not include the active-duty military and Postal Service employees. Per Partnership for Public Service, the United States federal workforce accounted for about 0.6% of the U.S. population over the last 15 years.[i]
When considering the US Postal Service, as was done in an article published by Pew Research Center, the percentage increased to 1.87% for the entire civilian workforce. This data was reported by Drew DeSilver, the author of that article, and was taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November 2024 data.
However, these statistics pale in comparison to the 1945 levels of the federal workforce. According to Partnership for Public Service, in 1945, “the workforce represented a historic 2.5% of the entire population.”
Still, The White House’s Fact Sheet, “President Donald J. Trump Works to Remake America’s Federal Workforce,” released on February 11th, 2025, stated, “There are too many federal employees.”
The Fact Sheet also stated that “agencies will be able to hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service (with appropriate immigration, law enforcement, and public safety exceptions).”
Recently, the Associated Press reported that DOGE had implemented mass firings at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and within a week rescinded those terminations. As reported in that same article, the reinstated FDA employees were responsible for “overseeing medical devices, food ingredients and other key areas.”
Nevertheless, concerns did linger. On February 17th the Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, James “Jim” Jones resigned. As reported by CBS News, Mr. Jones stated that the firings, “included staff with highly technical expertise in nutrition, infant formula, food safety response and even 10 chemical safety staff hired to review potentially unsafe ingredients in our food supply.”[ii] CBS also reported that it was under Mr. Jones’s tenure that food additives came under scrutiny, including the recent banning of Red 3 by the FDA.
This inconsistent decision making by DOGE comes at a time when the White House also implemented tariffs on countries such as Mexico and Canada. A 2021, USDA article showed that “Over the past 2 decades, the volume of fresh vegetables imported by the United States, primarily from Mexico and Canada, rose nearly 200 percent.” In fact, a more recent USDA article stated, “In 2023, Mexico supplied 63 percent of U.S. vegetable imports and 47 percent of U.S. fruit and nut imports.” While increasing their export volume, these countries have also had to adhere to food safety standards set forth by the FDA.
In 2011, the FDA implemented the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). A 2023 report summary from the USDA’s Economic Research Service stated, “FSMA gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new powers to ensure that imported food meets U.S. standards and is safe to eat. According to the report, after the act was established, Mexico did adjust to meet the safety standards set forth by the FDA. These adjustments included “changes to equipment, investment in new infrastructure, and implementation of monitoring programs featuring improved sampling techniques.”
While the federal government does seem to be relatively large, its workforce population is nowhere near the 1945 levels. The back-and-forth firings made by DOGE may or may not affect the FDA. That remains to be seen. Still, a proponent of food safety and health has left the Department over these issues.
Those within the federal government should not be deemed “non-essential” on a whim. The effect of such firings could trickle down to the United States’ food, drug, and health channels. All places the American people deserve a full, secure and experienced workforce.
