USDA appeals court order pausing Beltsville research center closure; Maryland delegation backs the stay

By Philippa Langstrom

WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department has appealed a federal court order that blocks it from closing the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Prince George’s County. Maryland’s congressional delegation is backing the order.

USDA has said the move is part of a broader reorganization of its research arm. In an April 23 announcement, the department said the Beltsville campus has more than 400 buildings, “many of which are outdated or underutilized,” with significant deferred maintenance. “This move puts our research institutions outside of the beltway and closer to the land grant universities,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at the time.

On Oct. 13, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California issued a stay under Section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act in American Federation of Government Employees v. U.S. Department of Agriculture (No. 26-cv-09976-VC). The order bars USDA from closing or consolidating Agricultural Research Service facilities, “including the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center,” and from relocating employees outside their local commuting area while the case proceeds. The plaintiffs include Prince George’s County and the City of Baltimore.

The judge found that the department’s reprogramming of funds “almost certainly” violated restrictions Congress wrote into appropriations law. Lawmakers extended those restrictions through Dec. 11, 2026, in the stopgap funding law, Public Law 119-103.

The appeal

USDA filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Oct. 16, according to the appellate docket (No. 26-6855). Under the court’s schedule, the government’s opening brief is due Nov. 13 and the answering brief is due Dec. 11.

Rollins said on a call this week that “we are full-bore ahead in the reorganization,” Government Executive reported Friday. A USDA spokesperson told the publication that “her comment speaks for itself” and that “any further responses will be filed with the court, not the press.”

The delegation’s position

Both of Maryland’s senators, Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and seven of its House members issued a joint statement on Oct. 14. The House members were Glenn Ivey, Steny Hoyer, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney and Johnny Olszewski, all Democrats.

“As we’ve said time and again, this Administration’s attempts to shutter BARC are not only unwise – they’re illegal,” the statement said. The lawmakers said the center’s research helps farmers fight threats including cyclospora and avian flu, and that the ruling showed the department’s efforts were “in clear violation of Congressional intent.”

USDA’s reorganization page lists the letters members of Congress have sent about the plan. They include letters from Van Hollen (March and June), Ivey (March), Raskin (June) and Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virginia (September).

What comes next

The stay stays in place while the case continues unless the Ninth Circuit or the district court changes it. The appropriations restrictions the judge relied on run through Dec. 11, the same day the answering brief is due.

The Washington Inquisitor has asked the USDA press office and the offices of Sens. Van Hollen and Alsobrooks for comment and will update this story with any response.

Photo: Sen. Chris Van Hollen, official portrait. U.S. Senate Photographic Studio / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.