At Wednesday morning’s Cupboard assembly, President Donald Trump praised Environmental Safety Company Administrator Lee Zeldin for a plan to make aggressive cuts on the company and lay off 65 p.c of its workforce.
Hours later, the White Home walked again the president’s feedback, saying that EPA intends to chop 65 p.c of its spending, not 65 p.c of the company’s employees — pulling again a press release that rattled staff on the company charged with defending the nation’s air and water.
The fast flip of occasions was the most recent proof of confusion that has swept throughout the federal authorities because the Trump administration seeks to reshape the federal paperwork by reducing spending and paring again the federal workforce.
“I spoke with Lee Zeldin and he thinks he’ll be reducing 65 or so p.c of the folks from Environmental [Protection Agency] and we will velocity up the method, too,” Trump mentioned at a Cupboard assembly attended by Zeldin.
A White Home spokesperson later clarified that Trump was referring a deliberate 65 p.c reduce to EPA’s funds, not its workforce.
“President Trump, DOGE, and Administrator Zeldin are dedicated to reducing waste, fraud, and abuse throughout all businesses,” White Home spokesperson Taylor Rogers mentioned in a press release, referring to the Division of Authorities Effectivity. “After not too long ago figuring out $20 billion fraudulent in spending, Administrator Zeldin is dedicated to eliminating 65% of the EPA’s wasteful spending.”
The $20 billion Rogers referred to is the Greenhouse Gasoline Discount Fund, for which the Biden administration positioned $20 billion in grants to be administered by nonprofit teams in Citibank. EPA has not recognized any fraud underneath this system however is trying to get the money back from Citibank.
Such a gutting of EPA’s funds would virtually actually imply important reductions in employees. The president’s assertion got here shortly after the White Home ordered EPA and different federal businesses to submit plans for “large-scale reductions in power” by mid-March.
EPA earlier this month terminated 388 workers, or about 2.5 p.c of its workforce. Nevertheless, a minimum of a few of these personnel have been known as again, mirroring rehirings at different businesses for personnel who have been apparently fired inadvertently.
In its personal assertion, EPA didn’t remark immediately on Trump’s remarks.
“President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin are in lock step in making a extra environment friendly and efficient federal authorities,” the company mentioned. “In comparison with 2024, the overall quantity spent yr over yr at EPA will ship important efficiencies to American taxpayers by reducing wasteful grants, reassessing the company’s actual property footprint, and delivering organizational enhancements to the personnel construction.”
EPA has roughly a $10 billion annual funds, not counting over $100 million in one-time appropriations flowing by way of the company through the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law.
Throughout his first time period, Trump routinely proposed among the largest share cuts to the funds of any company for EPA, corresponding to in 2020, when he proposed a 27 percent reduction. Nevertheless, Congress repeatedly declined to make drastic cuts to EPA’s appropriations.
Environmental teams on Wednesday shortly slammed Trump’s preliminary assertion that EPA can be slashing 65 p.c of its employees.
It “takes a wrecking ball to EPA, throwing the doorways vast open for company polluters to freely dump poisonous chemical compounds within the air we breathe and the water all of us drink,” Michelle Roos, government director of the Environmental Safety Community, a gaggle of EPA alumni, mentioned in a press release.
Ben Jealous, government director of the Sierra Membership, known as the plan “sinister.”
“Let’s name this what it’s: sabotage of the Environmental Safety Company and the vital work it performs day by day,” he added.
As well as, Trump mentioned Zeldin has found nonexistent personnel on EPA’s payrolls though the president didn’t elaborate.
“On the similar time, you had lots of people that weren’t doing their job. They have been simply obstructionists, and lots of people that did not exist,” Trump mentioned. “I suppose, Lee, too — we discovered a number of empty spots. The folks weren’t there, they did not exist.”
The White Home and EPA didn’t reply questions on whether or not Trump’s characterization of nonexistent staff was correct or the extent of the potential subject.
