LSU AgCenter hunger project ‘on hold' amid USAID freeze
LSU's Memorial Tower on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Tower Drive in Baton Rouge. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator)
A $22 million project involving the LSU AgCenter has been paused while the Trump administration reviews spending at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
LSU is part of the Feed the Future Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab, which researchers at Kansas State University lead. It seeks to make cereal crops – such as rice, wheat, miller and sorghum – more readily available to those at risk of hunger, according to an AgCenter blog post.
'As a result of the recent Executive Orders, the federal government is currently reviewing expenditures, and this project has been placed on hold,' LSU AgCenter spokeswoman Tobie Blanchard said in a statement to the Illuminator. 'As a contractor on this initiative, we are awaiting further guidance.'
All work at USAID, an independent national agency that oversees distribution of foreign aid, has been halted, and all direct hires have been placed on leave pending a review by Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The tech billionaire has been granted unprecedented access to the federal government after President Donald Trump rebranded the existing U.S. Digital Office, which former President Barack Obama created, to DOGE through an executive order. Democrats have challenged whether it's legal for Musk or the renamed department to make such sweeping changes.
Among the casualties of DOGE's funding freeze are millions of dollars paid to land-grant universities, many in Republican-led states such as Louisiana.
Among the key roles of land-grant universities, which include LSU and Southern University, is advancing agricultural science and working directly with farmers through local extension programs.
Projects seeking to breed climate-resilient crops are among the staples of the LSU AgCenter. While the Feed the Future project has an international focus, the school's emphasis on climate-resilient crops also benefits Louisiana farmers whose lands are regularly impacted by hurricanes and other extreme weather events.
Research universities bring in millions of dollars annually in federal research funding, which in turn compensate thousands of graduate students and other local employees, creating an economic impact throughout the state.
The uncertainty of future funding as newly-installed Trump officials seek to slash spending has put many in higher education ill at ease.
Louisiana has three universities with the top research designation: LSU, Tulane and the University of Louisiana Lafayette. Three other universities — Southern, Louisiana Tech and the University of New Orleans — have the second highest designation.
In sum, Louisiana universities spend hundreds of millions of dollars on research, much of which various federal agencies fund.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
35 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Traders ‘Hold Their Nerve' to Ride Bumpy Emerging Market Rally
Investors are betting the months-long rally in emerging markets has further to run even as tariff threats and escalating geopolitical tensions signal a rocky path ahead. Money managers from Lazard Asset Management Ltd. to Pictet Asset Management Ltd. have been scooping up Latin American local bonds, Asian currencies and some high-yield sovereign debt. The optimism — fueled by fading concerns about Trump's trade policies — got a fresh boost last week after a string of soft US inflation data reignited bets the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates more than once this year. That helped send the dollar to 2022 lows, pushing EM assets to extend yearly gains.
Axios
38 minutes ago
- Axios
Congress' fight over security erupts after Minnesota shootings
A long-simmering fight over congressional security roared back to the surface this weekend following a pair of shootings against Minnesota state legislators at their homes that left two dead and two others hospitalized. Why it matters: The shootings have deeply unnerved members of Congress, who feel that any one of them could be the subject of an unanticipated attack — particularly at home in their districts and while in transit. Personal security details are largely a privilege for top congressional leaders and — in some cases — other high-profile members facing specific, credible threats. Rank-and-file members are renewing a push for greater security, arguing for their own details, greater safety measures at their homes and at airports and more stringent measures to hide their sensitive details. Driving the news: Minnesota state House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed at their home early on Saturday. The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, also allegedly shot Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their home, leaving both hospitalized. Boelter was allegedly dressed as a police officer and driving a vehicle similar to those used by local law enforcement. He also had what investigators described as a "manifesto" that listed other Democratic lawmakers, as well as prominent abortion rights advocates, officials allege. State of play: The shooting sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying he asked for increased security for Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.). House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he similarly asked security officials to "ensure the safety of our Minnesota delegation and Members of Congress across the country." The Capitol Police said in a statement Saturday it was "aware of the violence targeting state lawmakers in Minnesota" and had "been working with our federal, state and local partners," but declined to offer further details. What they're saying: "I call on the Capitol Police to assist in providing real solutions for increased security for members," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Thompson, who had a security detail in 2022 as chair of the Jan. 6 committee, said he expects "full cooperation and resources from Republican leadership." "We're just as exposed as [Hortman] was. We have no more security than she does. You know, Capitol Police is not equipped ... for 435 members, to keep them safe," Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told Axios in an interview. "It's not their fault," he added. "Things have changed. And as Congress becomes less functional in general, we can't even function to keep ourselves safe." What we're hearing: House Republicans held a call on Saturday afternoon, in which lawmakers exhorted their leadership to provide more security resources to individual members. Specific proposals included increasing security measures at members' homes and at airports, as well as boosting security for meetings, according to three House Republicans who were on the call. One of the GOP lawmakers, asked if leadership was receptive to those pleas, told Axios they "don't think so" and that "nothing's changed." A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not respond to a request for comment. What's next: Jeffries will host a virtual briefing next Tuesday afternoon on members' security, according to invites viewed by Axios. A senior House Democrat told Axios that their colleagues are "scared" and want their addresses hidden — as well as regular security updates — and "won't be silenced." Another House Democrat said there is "heavy demand" in the party for rank-and-file members to have their own security details. The intrigue: Moskowitz told Axios he may force a House vote on holding what is called a " secret session" so members can have sensitive security discussions "if I have to." Such sessions, in which lawmakers can debate on the House floor away from public view, are typically used to discuss confidential information, as was the case the last time the House went into a secret session in 2008. Moskowitz can force a vote on his proposal unilaterally through what is called a privileged motion. "Maybe it also won't come to that," he told Axios. "Maybe we'll hear something from the speaker in the next week."
Axios
38 minutes ago
- Axios
Inside Trump's backtrack on immigration
For months, Trump administration officials have been adamant about targeting all the millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, regardless of their work or taxpaying status. But now Trump is making a huge exception: those working at hotels, farms, meatpacking plants and restaurants. Why it matters: He's bowing to pressure from businesses that have been warning of economic devastation — and is opening the door for potentially millions of workers who are here illegally to stay after all. Zoom in: The pressure — particularly from the agriculture and hospitality industries — had been building for months. But it ramped up in recent weeks, after top Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem met with top ICE officials in late May and demanded that immigration agents dramatically boost their arrest goal to 3,000 people a day. That mandate helped drive many of the increasingly aggressive raids by masked, heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across the nation. It also helped inspire protests about ICE's tactics — most notably in Los Angeles, where Trump called in the National Guard and Marines over the objection of state and local officials. How it happened: Trump's pivot appears to have emerged Wednesday, sources with knowledge of the situation tell Axios. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called Trump to say farm groups were increasingly concerned that the stepped-up immigration raids would lead many reliable workers to be arrested — or stop showing up for work, out of fear. Their conversation, the sources said, led Trump to post a message on Truth Social Thursday saying that immigrants in the agriculture and hospitality industries are "very good, long time workers." He hinted at exceptions for such workers who are here illegally, saying: "Changes are coming." Later Thursday, Tatum King, a senior ICE official, sent an email to agency officials nationwide, telling them to "please hold on all worksite enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meatpacking plants), restaurants, and operating hotels." The email added that "other case types/investigations such as human trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling into these industries are ok, however we are not pursuing non-criminal collaterals." The intrigue: White House insiders insist this isn't a case of Trump flip-flopping — and that he still supports the hard line on immigration enforcement that Miller and Noem have pushed. But it's clear that the economic calamity that could result from mass deportations of unauthorized workers who do labor-intensive jobs most Americans won't, will lead to some changes in Trump's immigration plan. Undocumented workers and those with expired work visas can be difficult to track across sectors of the economy But some studies have given a glimpse of their presence: The American Immigration Council estimates that unauthorized immigrants make up about 4.6% of the nation's employed labor force — that would amount to more than 7 million people. A recent Department of Agriculture study estimated that about 42% of America's farmworkers were undocumented from 2020 to 2022. Trump previously floated the idea of creating exceptions for workers in crucial industries. In mid-April, he suggested a pathway to citizenship for "great" unauthorized immigrants who play key roles in the economy — a way to live in the U.S. legally if they'd self-deport and have an employer support their return.
