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The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that it is eliminating its scientific research arm and reducing its workforce by at least 23%.
The EPA’s Office of Research and Development arm oversaw hundreds of scientists working to “safeguard human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants.”
Instead, the department will be gutted and thousands at the EPA will be let go as part of President Donald Trump’s continued push to dismantle critical government programs.
Officials said they plan to fire roughly 3,700 employees at the EPA, or 23% of the staffing since Trump took office.
The research arm will be replaced by a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions, which officials at the EPA claim will save the agency $750 million.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement that the new changes would 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.”
Last month, the EPA put more than 130 workers on leave for daring to criticize the agency’s leadership.
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The 139 employees signed a public “declaration of dissent” that condemned Zeldin for focusing on “harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise.”
And earlier this month, Zeldin gave a nod to conspiracy theorists when he announced new webpages discussing geoengineering and contrails.
“For years, people who asked questions in good faith were dismissed, even vilified by the media and their own government,” Zeldin posted on X. “This ends today.”
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