Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), which works to protect U.S. miners from injury, illness, and death on the job, is among the latest federal agencies targeted for cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In collaboration with the General Services Administration, or GSA, DOGE has begun terminating leases for hundreds of offices and buildings for groups such as NOAA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, geological surveys in several states, and the National Park Service. According to coverage by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Grist, and others, the list includes at least 34 centers run by MSHA, which conduct regular inspections of quarries and mines to ensure worker safety.
It is unclear whether the lease terminations will involve layoffs or relocating workers to other MSHA office locations.
Related
• DOGE lease cancellations list (AP)
• DOGE cuts put region’s miners and families on edge (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
• Trump brings back a first-term mine safety official to lead MSHA (WKMS)
• Trump administration moves to shutter mine safety offices in coal country (Grist)
• Get Involved: AGU Science Policy Action Center
When MSHA first began operation under the Mine Act of 1977, 242 U.S. miners died in mining accidents. In 2025, there were 31, according to the MSHA website.
Federal regulators at MSHA also created a rule, set to take effect in April, which cuts in half the amount of silica allowed in air, in an effort to reduce a new form of black lung disease.
Wayne Palmer, tapped by President Trump to be the next leader of MSHA and who held the position during Trump’s first term, recently served as an executive at the Essential Minerals Association, which filed a legal brief challenging the new rule.
In a statement provided to several news outlets, a GSA spokesperson said: “A component of our space consolidation plan will be the termination of many soft term leases. To the extent these terminations affect public facing facilities and/or existing tenants, we are working with our agency partners to secure suitable alternative space.”
In a statement, United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts said the organization was “troubled” by the news. To keep workers safe, she added, both unions representing workers’ best interests and government agencies enforcing laws are necessary.
In their absence, “workers’ safety will be left solely in the hands of employers. History has shown us time and time again that doing so is a recipe for disaster, especially in the mining industry.”
—Emily Dieckman, (@emfurd.bsky.social), Associate Editor
These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about how changes in law or policy are affecting scientists or research? Send us a tip at [email protected].
