Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) urges Congress and the White House to reverse course on the illegal reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and to adequately staff and support the federal wildland firefighting workforce amid catastrophic fires across the country. “In the middle of fire season, Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration’s policies and actions have weakened our ability to safely fight wildfires,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “DOGE recklessly cut more than 6,000 USFS workers, thousands of them qualified wildland firefighters, and the Trump administration now threatens pointless relocations or terminations of many more, including shuttering 57 of 77 research labs critical to fire preparedness and response. “Already outlawed in the current year’s appropriations, the president is directing an illegal and irresponsible reorganization of the Forest Service, forcing qualified professionals to relocate or quit at the height of the fire season.”