DOGE directs USDA to cancel $2.5B in rural and research grants

DOGE directed the Department of Agriculture to cancel approximately $2.5 billion in grants on April 29, 2026, targeting rural broadband, nutrition research, agricultural extension, and conservation programs. Rural Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in criticizing the cuts, which threatened $300 million in land-access programs for underserved farmers and disrupted conservation technical assistance across 40 states. Legal challenges were immediately filed arguing the cancellations violated the Impoundment Control Act.