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The Conversation
The Conversation
Elizabeth Blum, Professor of Environmental History, Troy University

Trump administration is on track to cut 1 in 3 EPA staffers by the end of 2025, slashing agency’s ability to keep pollution out of air and water

Environmental Protection Agency staff and contractors are often involved in large cleanups of toxic waste, such as after the Los Angeles fires of early 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images

As Congress faces a Sept. 30, 2025, deadline to fund the federal government, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has put the EPA on the chopping block. But even before Congress decides about the administration’s recommendations to slash its staff, the EPA’s political leaders have made even more significant cuts to the agency’s workforce.

And a look at past efforts to cut EPA staff shows how rapidly those changes can affect Americans’ health and the environment.

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