The federal government is ramping up efforts in Texas to combat the spread of New World Screwworm, a pest that could devastate the cattle and wildlife industries in Texas and the nation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a slew of new initiatives and investments to monitor and prevent the spread of screwworm, which is traveling north through Mexico and was detected about 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border in July.
Screwworms are parasitic flies that lay larvae in open wounds of live, warm-blooded animals, causing them serious harm and, potentially, death.
https://boingboing.net/2025/05/15/flesh-eating-screwworms-march-north-as-doge-cuts-funding-on-everything-we-need-to-stop-them.html
But that doesn’t really claim it caused the lapse, just that we no longer have enough functioning government to organize a response