The layoffs were a part of a cost-cutting mission across the US government by Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) leader Elon Musk. The terminations came as the latest outbreak of the bird flu has wreaked havoc on poultry and cattle farms, causing egg prices to skyrocket and raising concerns among public health experts.

A USDA spokesperson told the BBC that although "several" officials working on bird flu were "notified of their terminations" over the weekend, "we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters". "USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfil our statutory mission," the spokesperson added. Bird flu has circulated among American poultry flocks for years, but the virus found a new foothold in the US last year when it began to infect dairy cows. Since then, dozens of humans in close contact with the animals have been infected as well, including a Louisiana patient who was the first to die from the virus in the US last month.

At the same time, the outbreak has worsened on poultry farms, forcing farmers to cull their chickens, leading to egg shortages and high prices. Earlier this week, the US reached an agreement to buy 15,000 tonnes of liquid egg from Turkey to help plug the shortage, a Turkish trade official told the BBC. Ibrahim Afyon, the president of the Egg Producers Central Union in Turkey, said the egg products would be sent to the US in two batches by the end of June.