Karmactive Staff
The Environmental Protection Agency has lost 1,560 positions since the beginning of Trump’s second term, cutting approximately 10% of its workforce as of April’s end, according to staff records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Center for Biological Diversity, which obtained these records, compared EPA staff directories from 2024 to 2025, revealing the agency’s workforce dropped from over 17,700 employees to about 16,200 in just a few months.
“The EPA can’t protect American health while losing 10% of its staff in a matter of months,” said Ivan Ditmars, associate attorney at the Center. “Without the scientists and researchers to maintain strong health and environmental standards, polluters will profit while the rest of us suffer from dirtier air and water.”
The speed of these cuts stands out as unprecedented. While previous administrations under Reagan, Bush, and Trump’s first term reduced EPA staffing, those decreases happened gradually rather than in a sudden drop.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to slash the agency’s budget by $300 million for fiscal year 2026, aiming to return staffing to “Reagan-era levels” of 11,000-14,000 employees. The administration has proposed cutting the EPA’s budget by 54.5%, from $9.1 billion to $4.2 billion, with an eventual goal of a 65% overall budget reduction in coming years.
Beyond these initial cuts, nearly 300 additional employees working on environmental justice and diversity programs are scheduled to be terminated by the end of July. The agency is also dissolving its Office of Research and Development (ORD), which employs about 1,500 staff who must now apply for roughly 400 newly created positions in other offices.
Similiar Posts
Scientists and health advocates warn these changes threaten public health. Laura Kate Bender from the American Lung Association said: “Gutting the ORD is a loss for health. EPA’s air pollution rules work because they’re based on science. This is the office that makes that possible.”
The Union of Concerned Scientists expressed alarm that “shuttering the EPA’s scientific arm that conducts independent research and folding it into policy offices will turn the EPA into a purely political agency.”
The administration defends these changes as necessary to support Trump’s goals to “unleash American energy, revitalize domestic manufacturing, cut costs for families and pursue permitting reform.” Zeldin claims the reorganization will better position the agency to fulfill its “core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
The EPA is also eliminating billions in grants, including $2.46 billion from Clean and Drinking Water funds, $254 million from Superfund cleanup programs, and $100 million from environmental justice initiatives. Some of these cancellations already face legal challenges from several states.
As the EPA continues shrinking, environmental advocates worry about reduced enforcement of clean air and water regulations, delays in hazardous waste cleanup, and diminished scientific capacity to address emerging environmental threats.
