SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has issued a sweeping ruling, blocking the massive reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including a planned move of US Forest Service headquarters in Salt Lake City.
In a ruling Tuesday, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for Northern California blocked much of the USDA’s planned reorganization.
“On the facts of this case, the most appropriate remedy is indeed to suspend USDA reorganization expenditures, period,” Judge Chhabria wrote.
A coalition of unions, conservation groups and even some local government offices have filed a lawsuit against the USDA reorganization for many reasons.
“This is a welcome reprieve from the Trump-Vance administration’s reckless, illegal and disruptive reorganization of the USDA. The department provides vital services across America, supporting rural communities, protecting our food supply, feeding families, advancing agricultural research, guarding our forests and public lands, and much more. We look forward to more permanent relief and continuing to fight for American families, farmers and workers,” the coalition said in a press release.
Rep. Mike Kennedy explains why he opposes the judge’s decision to block the Forest Service’s decision:
Rep. Kennedy objects to judge’s decision to block Forest Service decision
Regarding the U.S. Forest Service, the judge ruled that Secretary Brooke Rollins and the USDA “are enjoined and suspended from (a) closing or eliminating offices or (b) moving or reassigning employees or their positions or functions to different and/or new locations outside the local travel area, including issuing or enforcing (management-directed reassignment) letters or other notices or directives of reassignment or relocation in whole or in part, including deadlines indicated in these letters to the Forest Service.”
“The department is reviewing the judge’s decision and will file its response with the Court,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to FOX 13 News.
The federal government could appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
But Justice Chhabria wrote that his decision could be temporary.
“The affected appropriations laws are set to expire in less than two months. If the agency wishes to move forward with its office closure and employee relocation plans, it will soon have an opportunity to convince Congress of the merits of these plans. Congress, if it agrees, can choose not to extend the restrictions at issue in this case. But until then, USDA is preliminarily prohibited from spending the funds appropriated for office closures and relocations employees,” he wrote.
The battle began over Utah Amendment B on your ballot:
The battle started over Utah Amendment B on your ballot
In March, the USDA announced it would move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, closing regional offices. It’s a move welcomed by Utah’s Republican political leaders because it brings a large agency closer to the lands it manages.
Since then, Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President J. Stuart Adams have hosted numerous events with the Forest Service chief, including at the Cottonwood Fire, where agreements were signed on forest management.
The governor, House speaker and Senate president blasted the decision in a joint statement to FOX 13 News on Wednesday.
“Today’s decision by a California judge to block the Forest Service from moving its headquarters to Utah is a setback for common sense and responsible management of our public lands,” they wrote. “Decisions affecting Western forests and communities should be made closer to the people who know these lands best, not by bureaucrats and special interests thousands of miles from Washington, D.C. We hope this decision is quickly reversed so that Forest Service leadership can better serve the West.”
Read the decision here:
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