‘Elon Musk Should Have to Pay For This’: Trump Admin Says It Needs $1 Billion to Combat Screwworm

Photo: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Scientist Zamira Yusseff shows the research she is conducting that supports the mission of the USDA Laboratory. Here you see New World Screwworm larvae – June 8, 2026. Photo credit: USDA media by Lance Cheung via Flickr. Public Domain. Article by Stephen Prager. Common Dreams – June 16, 2026.

When Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” took its chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy last year, it created bottlenecks that may have hampered the fight against the screwworm infestation currently menacing the southwest while making it much more expensive. The annual US Department of Agriculture (USDA) spending to combat the flesh-eating insects only amounted to about $15 million per year. But along with about $382 million aimed at combating animal-borne illnesses around the globe, it was terminated in March 2025 as part of DOGE’s effort to root out what it described as government “waste.” […]

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