USDA and EPA placed on lockdown by Trump administration

[HipChick]

The US Department of Agriculture has banned scientists and other employees in its main research division from publicly sharing everything from the summaries of scientific papers to USDA-branded tweets as it starts to adjust to life under the Trump administration, BuzzFeed News has learned.

According to an email sent Monday morning and obtained by BuzzFeed News, the department told staff — including some 2,000 scientists — at the agency’s main in-house research arm, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), to stop communicating with the public about taxpayer-funded work.

“Starting immediately and until further notice, ARS will not release any public-facing documents,” Sharon Drumm, chief of staff for ARS, wrote in a department-wide email shared with BuzzFeed News.

“This includes, but is not limited to, news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds, and social media content,” she added.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/legacy_mobile/dinograndoni/trump-usda?utm_term=.pr0ebawkjL#.icqJGdO3VY

[milestogo]

1. Because transparency is the hallmark of democracy.

[sarah FAILIN]

2. I showed this to a friend that was just hired by the USDA

I'm waiting on his reaction still. He is a rep so it may take a while.

I think our food and environment is about to be effed up.

[bdamomma]

3. can they do this??

a lockdown??? is this a threat to the people??? so they are trying to keep all information away from us?

[HipChick]

6. Where are the Dems on this?

Nothing from House or Senate condemning?

[Eleanors38]

12. Any opposition is in the streets, not from within the Party.

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. Bastard.

A friend works in the Chicago USDA office. She handed in her intent to retire on November 9 and has one week left. I imagine that this makes her decision feel even more the right thing to do since she works in public affairs.

So much for transparency.

[HipChick]

5. Dept of Health and Human Services too...

[retrowire]

7. Yay! He's giving America back to the people!

Just like he said!

[procon]

8. Just think about the existing horrors of the food industry now,

and imagine how much worse it's going to get once Trump guts safety regs. Ecoli... yummy!

[Initech]

9. Begun, the purge has.

[MoonRiver]

10. We will still be able to get information from Europe, but WTF???

We are definitely about to become a Russian dictatorship if orange has anything to say about it.

[justiceischeap]

11. He's even blocking communication with Congress. Is this legal? nt