Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, alongside Congressman Chris Pappas, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and Senator Maggie Hassan, are urging the Office of Management and Budget to exempt Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lab personnel from the Trump Administration’s federal hiring freeze, as their roles are critical to combating drug trafficking and keeping communities safe.

The delegation stressed the importance of this exemption ahead of the New England Lab opening, saying, “The DEA intends to employ more than 50 people at this lab; however, they currently employ only five chemists and fingerprint analysts. If lab personnel are not exempt from the hiring freeze, the DEA is prohibited from hiring additional staff for these positions or promoting individuals to supervisor positions. With the lab intending to analyze more than 5,000 drug exhibits each year, the New England Lab would be severely understaffed to accomplish their critical mission of protecting public safety.”

Highlighting the importance of DEA lab personnel to combating drug trafficking, they wrote, “It is crucial that the Administration exempt lab personnel because the DEA faces data analysis backlogs, hampering the DEA’s ability to prosecute major drug crimes, identify new and emerging trends, and respond to drug threats in a timely manner. Lab personnel such as fingerprint analysts, chemists, and evidence specialists are critical to DEA’s efforts to enforce laws and enhance public safety.”

“We urge you to exempt all DEA lab personnel and other positions critical to catching major drug traffickers from the hiring freeze,” they concluded.

Read the letter here.

The DEA’s Labs across the country play a vital role in safeguarding our communities by employing cutting-edge scientific techniques to identify and analyze dangerous synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, methamphetamine, xylazine and other novel psychoactive substances. The New England Lab, scheduled to open in April 2026, will be the eighth regional DEA laboratory in the nation and will specialize in both drug chemistry and latent fingerprint identification. Their detailed analysis is essential for identifying emerging threats, supporting investigations and prosecutions, informing public safety and health strategies, and contributing to international efforts.

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