US President Donald Trump announced plans to cut about 65% of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which currently employs over 17,000 individuals. This reduction is part of Trump’s initiative to shrink the federal government and trim spending. He aims to roll back environmental regulations to boost economic growth, labeling climate change a “scam” and exiting the Paris Agreement. New EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, though acknowledging man-made climate change, is focused on reducing regulations while ensuring clean air and water. The agency has already cut $60 million in grants related to diversity and environmental justice programs.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration intends to reduce the Environmental Protection Agency’s staff by approximately 65 percent, targeting a crucial regulatory body involved in various sectors, including climate change.
“I had a conversation with Lee Zeldin, and he believes that he will be cutting around 65 percent of personnel from the environmental sector,” he stated, referring to the agency’s administrator.
The agency currently employs over 17,000 workers, out of an estimated two million in the overall US federal workforce.
In his initial days in office, Trump has prioritized downsizing the federal government, enlisting Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual in the world, to assist in this initiative along with reducing government expenditures.
The Republican platform was designed to reduce environmental regulation, particularly those associated with climate change, to promote economic growth.
Trump has labeled climate change a “scam” and on his first day back in office, he removed the US from the significant Paris Agreement for a second time.
Since then, he has declared a “national energy emergency” to enhance domestic oil drilling and has signed executive orders to impede the transition to electric vehicles and suspend offshore wind projects.
Zeldin, previously a US congressman from New York, has pledged to fulfill Trump’s campaign promises, despite recently acknowledging that human-caused climate change is “real.”
He has asserted that he would prioritize the EPA’s mission to secure clean air and water, but seems inclined to dismantle numerous other environmental regulations.
“The EPA will vigorously pursue an agenda to drive the Great American Comeback… that is our mission,” he remarked earlier this month.
The new EPA administrator appears to have aligned with Musk’s initiative to cut government spending, announcing on Tuesday that the agency had cut $60 million in grants previously allocated to “wasteful DEI and environmental justice programs,” in reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Most scientists concur that the ongoing climate change is distinct from historical natural cycles.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change asserts that it is undeniably linked to human activities, notably the combustion of fossil fuels, especially since the late 19th century.
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