Weed scientist Olivia Landau said she knew by the distraught look on her supervisor’s face that the rumor was true. She was being fired from her position in Pullman, Wash., with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service.

Landau, 31, was among the USDA-ARS scientists and technicians nationwide who were fired via email Feb. 13. The USDA has not disclosed how many were fired or why, except that all had been hired within the past three years and were “probationary” employees.

Landau said she was aware three weeks ago the agency had compiled a list of probationary employees. “It was kind of weird,” she said. “There was concern about why the list was made.”

On the afternoon of the mass firings, Landau went to see her research leader. “As soon as I saw his face, I knew it was true,” she said. “It’s still a very shocking and unimaginable thing to happen.”

An email from USDA-ARS human resources director Willis Collie informed dismissed employees that their further employment would not be in the public interest.

Sean Finnie, the director of the USDA’s wheat quality lab in Pullman, is among the fired. The lab, which will stay open, is dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of U.S. wheat so overseas customers will buy it, he said. “We’re not going to win on price,” he said.

“I don’t have anything to do with diversity, equity or inclusion. I don’t have anything to do with anything controversial. We’re just trying to make sure U.S. wheat growers have products they can take to the marketplace,” said Finnie, 43.

Fired USDA-ARS scientists across the country were doing fundamental research, he said. “It’s not like they were pursuing far-fetched ideas.”

Statistical geneticist Asher Hudson had been in his position for two months in Urbana, Illinois, when he got the email telling him he was being fired based on his performance and that it was no longer in the public interest for USDA-ARS to employ him.

“I hadn’t been there long enough to have a performance review,” he said. Hudson was starting research on how weeds develop resistance to herbicides and the environment. “The reason I took the job was because I thought it was in the public interest — to benefit agriculture and increase food security,” he said.

Landau, married and the mother of a 2-year-old, earned her doctorate in 2023 from the University of Illinois. She moved to Pullman in April. Her research included studying weed genomes and resistance to herbicides.

“The worst thing about the whole thing is that they (the USDA) had already invested money in the people they fired,” Landau said. “All that investment — you’re never going to get a return.”

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday titled, “Radical Transparency About Wasteful Spending.” It directs government agencies to make public the “complete details” of  every terminated program.

The USDA declined Wednesday to say how many scientists and support personnel were fired, or why.

“We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy,” a USDA spokesman said in an email.

“As part of this effort, USDA has released individuals in their probationary period of employment,” the email read.

Fired USDA-ARS scientists can appeal their dismissals. “It’d be great to get reinstated,” Landau said. “But I’m not hopeful anything will be done quickly.”