Moving more of our Ag department outside DC
I first heard the idea of moving federal departments out of Washington, D.C., about a decade ago. It immediately struck me as the kind of common-sense reform that could help reconnect government with the people it’s meant to serve. I recall President Trump making some modest gains in that effort during his first term.
In a recent video message, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced efforts to close up several USDA buildings in the nation’s capitol and disperse a little over half of the staff to Salt Lake City; Fort Collins, Colorado; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Rollins expects downsizing and savings from the effort, too. “Our best guess is that perhaps 50 to 70 percent of our Washington, D.C., staff will want to move — they will actually take that relocation,” she said. Rollins encouraged those not making move to join the private sector, citing improved economic conditions.
It doesn’t really make a lot of sense for USDA to be primarily walled off in DC and this effort isn’t only about government efficiency or trimming the federal footprint. It’s also about restoring trust in government. Let’s be honest: Washington, D.C., operates with a very different mindset from much of the rest of America. That disconnect undermines public confidence and deepens the urban-rural divide.
Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame recently put it: “Make them live in the country they want to govern.”
— Ray Nothstine
— The Federalism Beat