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.
On 21 April, the Environmental Protection Agency notified hundreds of employees working on diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice issues that they would be fired or reassigned to other positions.
Citing two executive orders that aim to end DEI programs and to implement the Department of Government Efficiency, a notice sent to employees by Travis Voyles, assistant deputy administrator of the agency, said the reduction in force “will directly benefit the American people and better advance the Agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
In February, the EPA placed the entire, nearly 200-person Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights staff on leave. The agency then reinstated dozens of the positions in March. As reported by The Washington Post, the new “reduction in force” will cut 105 staffers, effective 31 July, and reassign another 175, effective 29 June.
Earlier in the day on 21 April, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin held a press briefing at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. When asked how he would ensure the agency’s work reflected the Trump administration’s priorities, he said he was soliciting input from staff on how they think the agency could operate better.
“Number one is I think it’s incredibly important for us to fulfill all statutory obligations,” he said. “Two, I do not want to lose one good employee, and we’re going to be very thoughtful and deliberate in how we go forward.”
As reported by The New York Times, the EPA is also planning to cancel tens of millions of research grants researching topics such as the health effects of pesticide exposure, wildfire smoke, and Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (also known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals”).
—Emily Dieckman (@emfurd.bsky.social), Associate Editor
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