“This is an attack on science and rigorous economic research that informs policies that affect every American,” one USDA employee tells NBC News. The Trump administration says the move will save taxpayers money.

Today is the last day for hundreds of federal workers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make a difficult decision.

Their choice: Agree to leave Washington and report to work in Kansas City on Sept. 30 or be fired with a limited chance to appeal.

The move is part of a “directed reassignment” plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on June 13 that would relocate 547 employees from two agencies — the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture — to an office building in Kansas City.

The Trump administration has framed the move as an effort to save taxpayers money and bring researchers closer to the farmers they serve.

But employees within the two agencies are now speaking out, calling the move an effort to “eviscerate” the agency and “silence” researchers doing work that runs counter to the administration’s goals.

Economist Laura Dodson, who agreed to speak to NBC News as a union steward for AFGE Local 3403, says the decision has left her agency in disarray. Read more

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“This is an attack on science and rigorous economic research that informs policies that affect every American,” one USDA employee tells NBC News. The Trump administration says the move will save taxpayers money.

“This is an attack on science and rigorous economic research that informs policies that affect every American,” one USDA employee tells NBC News. The Trump administration says the move will save taxpayers money.

“This is an attack on science and rigorous economic research that informs policies that affect every American,” one USDA employee tells NBC News. The Trump administration says the move will save taxpayers money.