EPA cuts its scientific research office, as layoffs set to take effect
The Environmental Protection Agency eliminated its scientific research office in the Trump administration's latest cuts to the federal workforce.
The change, announced July 18, affects the Office of Research and Development, which provided EPA with information to make decisions on standards for human health and the environment. EPA will now have a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions, according to an agency news release.
'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,' Lee Zeldin, the agency's administrator, 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.'
Officials said the creation of the applied science and environmental solutions office would allow EPA to prioritize research and science while putting it 'at the forefront of rulemakings and technical assistance to states.'
EPA said organizational changes are saving nearly $750 million. The agency had already been subject to cuts in the new administration. A July 8 Supreme Court ruling allowed the Trump administration to implement sweeping reductions by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
In January, EPA had 16,155 employees, but the agency said it will now have 12,448 workers.
It's unclear how many staff are affected by the July 18 announcement, while some will be reassigned in the agency. In an email, an EPA spokesperson said the next step would be sending notices to individual employees.
The office includes biologists, chemists, epidemiologists and toxicologists. Scientists deal with emerging pollutants, including researching environmental emergencies such as floods, train derailments and wildfires, according to Nicole Cantello, legislative and political director for the American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents EPA workers.
"EPA is hellbent on destroying the foremost environmental research organization in the world," Cantello said. "That will only result in dirty air, dirty water and more health risks for the American people."
Justin Chen, the union president, said the research and development office also sets regulatory guidelines for measuring pollutant levels. The restructuring places scientific research closer to the administrator, a political appointee, who "you can very well see turning a blind eye on things that may be inconvenient to friends of the administration," Chen said.
In March, Democrats on the House science committee said there were about 1,540 employees across the country in EPA's reorganization plan of the Office of Research and Development. Lawmakers warned the plans would eliminate the EPA research and development office staffing by about 50-75%. The New York Times first reported on the plans.
'The obliteration of (the Office of Research and Development) will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety,' Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California, the committee's ranking chair, said in a July 18 statement. 'This is a travesty.'
The research and development office had been in the crosshairs of organizations allied with Trump, as the Times reported. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, specifically cited the EPA science office in Project 2025, the blueprint for Trump to reconfigure and downsize the federal government.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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