Additional layoffs are set to take place at the Environmental Protection Agency, on a scale of more than 10,000 jobs, President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
During the president’s first Cabinet meeting held during his second administration, Trump said he spoke with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin about his plans to further shrink the agency.
“I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent from the people from environmental, and we’re going to speed up the process, too, at the same time,” Trump told reporters.
He said many EPA employees had failed to do their jobs or did not even exist to begin with.
“A lot of people that weren’t doing their job, they were just obstructionists, and a lot of people that didn’t exist, I guess,” Trump said.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates that there are more than 18,700 permanent and temporary EPA employees.
Trump’s remarks come after the agency, and several others, were hit in a first round of layoffs earlier this month. On Feb. 13, the Office of Personnel Management asked department heads to lay off probationary employees in an effort to save money across the government.
While some agencies, including the Energy and Agriculture departments, laid off thousands of employees immediately following the directive, the EPA confirmed to Business Insider that it only fired 388 employees.
If Zeldin and his team move forward with the second round of mass firings, it could affect well over 11,000 federal jobs at the agency.
There is a good chance these positions could also be eliminated completely. Federal agencies are being directed to plan plans to downsize their workforce and eliminate the positions held by recently fired employees, according to a memorandum from the Trump administration obtained by the Associated Press.
Agencies reportedly have until March 13 to submit their plans.
This additional reduction in force is already underway at some agencies, including the General Services Administration, which reportedly told employees that additional firings would begin this week.
Since the widespread federal layoffs began, the Trump administration has been criticized as rushing the downsizing of the government. A number of departments and agencies, including the EPA, have since recalled numerous employees who were initially fired, sparking widespread confusion.
It remains unclear when additional layoffs will begin at the EPA.
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When asked about the timing of the additional layoffs, an EPA spokesperson told the Washington Examiner, “President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin are in lock step in creating a more efficient and effective federal government.
“Compared to 2024, the total amount spent year over year at EPA will deliver significant efficiencies to American taxpayers by cutting wasteful grants, reassessing the agency’s real estate footprint, and delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure,” the spokesperson continued. “In his first term, President Trump advanced conservation and environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth for families across the country and will continue to do so this term.”
