US EPA cutting workforce by 23%, closing research division

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it is cutting the size of its workforce by at least 23% and closing its scientific research office as part of President Donald Trump's broad effort to downsize the federal government.

In January, the EPA had 16,155 employees, and after layoffs and employees taking financial incentives to leave or retire, it will have a workforce of 12,448, the agency said.

The restructuring will save the government $748.8 million, the EPA said.

It did not specify how many of the cuts were related to the planned elimination of its Office of Research and Development, which has about 1,500 employees.

"Under President Trump's leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

"This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars."

ORD oversees a range of research projects, including health risk assessments of "forever chemicals" such as PFAS, investigations into respiratory illness in the rural South, and studies on the spread of Valley fever, a fungal disease exacerbated by climate change and wildfires.

Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat, said the EPA "is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people."

She said the closure of the office "will have generational impacts on Americans’ health and safety - this is a travesty."

The EPA said it would create a new office focused on scientific research called the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions.

The agency is also offering a third round of the deferred resignation program that will close on July 25, meaning the agency's total workforce could further shrink, a spokesperson said.