As the Trump administration aggressively works to overhaul the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than 300 career employees have already left, while those remaining face mounting pressure to quit or work under an administration determined to roll back environmental protections.
Sharon Lerner and Pratheek Rebala report for ProPublica.
In short:
- The Trump administration is driving a mass exodus from the EPA, pushing career scientists, toxicologists and regulators to leave through financial incentives and threats of termination.
- Key environmental programs, including those focused on pollution in vulnerable communities, are being dismantled, with an executive order aiming to eliminate the agency’s environmental justice office.
- Trump’s new EPA leadership indicates alignment with corporate polluters, with industry-backed officials taking key roles and pushing to strip federal employees of job protections.
Key quote:
“If he replaces EPA scientists and lawyers with people who just want to say yes to him, it will be the death knell for the EPA.”
— Kyla Bennett, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Why this matters:
The people who built the EPA are being forced out, and there are serious questions about whether those who replace them are there to regulate, or tear the agency down.
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