EPA: US Environmental Protection Agency to cut two-thirds of staff, according to Trump

According to Donald Trump, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to cut 65 percent of the staff. The US president said during the first meeting of his cabinet that he had spoken to EPA head Lee Zeldin. "And he believes he will cut about 65 percent of the employees from the environmental sector ," Trump said. "And at the same time, we will accelerate the process."

The EPA itself did not provide details on the extent of the job cuts indicated by Trump. It only said that the agency was focusing on cutting federal grants, reassessing its real estate needs and implementing organizational improvements in its staffing structure.

"President Trump and EPA Director Zeldin are working hand in hand to create a more efficient and effective federal government," an EPA spokesman said. So far, the EPA has laid off nearly 400 "probationary" employees and furloughed nearly 200 employees who worked on environmental justice issues at the agency.

Zeldin, 44, is a lawyer and served in the House of Representatives for the state of New York from 2015 to 2023. There he often voted against laws on environmental issues, including a measure against price gouging by oil companies. Now the Republican has been appointed by Trump to lead the EPA - and, most importantly, to dismantle it: Trump plans to use Zeldin to repeal environmental regulations on emissions from power plants and vehicles.

A paper released ahead of the cabinet meeting called for "significant reductions" in federal agency staff, but did not specify how many employees would be laid off in addition to the 100,000 of the 2.3 million civilian federal employees in the U.S. who have already accepted severance pay or been fired.

Trump has ordered a radical reduction in costs and personnel in federal agencies. The billionaire Elon Musk is leading the effort, and is supposed to reduce government spending. The so-called Office of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) was founded for this purpose.