U.S. Gene Banks, Key to New Crops, Hobbled by Trump Job Cuts

A science-driven effort to better manage the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) “gene banks,” launched shortly before President Donald Trump took office, is now in tatters, a victim of his assault on the federal workforce.

Plant breeder Neha Kothari was hired in October 2024 to streamline and improve the department’s vast collections of seeds and living crops that are key to developing improved varieties. But on 13 February she, like tens of thousands of other recent hires across the government still in probationary status, was dismissed from her job.

The entire gene bank network felt the chainsaw wielded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. About 30 employees—10% of its total staff—were terminated, according to an informal survey by some retired USDA scientists. An additional 10 vacant positions have been frozen or rescinded, and a similar number took Musk’s offer last month to resign immediately but remain on the federal payroll through September.