It’s hard to keep track of all the ways that the United States has changed since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. The nation’s foreign aid programs have been destroyed, chaotic tariff policies have upended global trade, and press freedom has been repeatedly attacked. But there are also innumerable smaller shifts taking place and incrementally warping day-to-day life. One involves some of the country’s tiniest inhabitants: ants.
Sources tell WIRED that ant smugglers in the US have been emboldened by widespread government staffing cuts spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which operates a