Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue described moving the USDA's research units to Kansas City as a "strategic long-term decision," but it appears to be an attempt to undermine the integrity of USDA science and evidence-based policymaking. As ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein responded, "Secretary Perdue is well on his way to dismantling a federal statistical agency that is one of the best agricultural economics research institutions in the world, having yet to provide a single justifiable reason for doing so." Pressure from the ASA and other key stakeholders did force the USDA to abandon plans that could have politicized its research, but the ASA will also continue to advocate for keeping these statistical agencies near the national capital.