Trump Claims Zeldin Plans to Slash 65% of EPA Workforce
The reductions are occurring as congressional Republicans advocate for budget cuts within the committee overseeing the environmental agency.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, is planning to dismiss nearly two-thirds of the agency’s workforce.
“I had a conversation with Lee Zeldin, and he anticipates laying off about 65 percent of the environmental staff,” Trump stated.
Trump mentioned that many at the agency consisted of “a lot of people who weren’t performing their duties—they were merely obstructing.”
Additionally, he claimed that many of the agency’s employees “didn’t even exist.”
The president disclosed the potential layoffs during his inaugural Cabinet meeting on February 26, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio by his side. Elon Musk, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary non-Cabinet entity, also participated in the meeting.
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The EPA has encountered cuts under past Republican administrations. President Ronald Reagan’s EPA head, Anne Gorsuch, who is also the mother of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, reduced staff by 21 percent from 1981 to 1983. Funding for the agency diminished during Reagan’s presidency and late in George W. Bush’s second term.
In the first 18 months of Trump’s initial term, the agency laid off over 1,500 workers. The workforce expanded under Biden, rising from 14,297 in the 2021 fiscal year to 15,130 in the 2024 fiscal year.
The House budget resolution, which narrowly passed on February 25, directs the committee overseeing the EPA, Energy, and Commerce to achieve savings of $880 billion. This committee is also responsible for Medicare, Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and numerous other programs and agencies.
During Zeldin’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) inquired about potential mass layoffs.
“Do you endorse terminating 75 percent of EPA employees?” she asked Zeldin.
Zeldin responded that he was unaware of any layoffs at the EPA during Trump’s first administration and had not received any information about it.
“My role as EPA administrator is to enhance productivity, ensuring we operate efficiently, transparently, and are accountable,” he explained.
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
