Dismantling the EPA: Trump’s War on Environmental Justice and Public Health

Olivia LoDico 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin (right) listens to Vice President JD Vance as he speaks during a visit to the East Palestine Fire Department in East Palestine, Ohio (Via: AP)

The ushering in of Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency not only ensures further irreparable harm to the planet but simultaneously debilitates the next generation’s ability to run and reverse his administration’s actions. As the Trump administration relentlessly slashes the EPA’s budget and workforce, a dystopian vision of our planet edges closer to reality. In February 2025 alone, over 300 EPA employees were terminated, including those vital to enforcing the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. In addition, the Interior Department—responsible for overseeing the country’s natural resources and cultural heritage—cut 2,300 employees, equating to three percent of each agency’s workforce. Such drastic reductions impede the agencies’ abilities to safeguard our environment and imperil public health, leaving communities vulnerable to unchecked industrial toxins and environmental disasters. The administration’s systematic dismantling of environmental protections threatens to reverse decades of progress, casting a shadow over the well-being of future generations. 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin aims to slash 65% of what the Trump administration deems “wasteful spending.” These cuts primarily target the agency’s focus on environmental justice. The term “environmental justice” refers to the right to a healthy environment and involvement in such decisions, ensuring communities are not disproportionately affected by environmental harm. This was a key principle of Zeldin’s predecessor, Michael Regan, who worked to support minority and low-income neighborhoods in providing fair treatment and meaningful involvement in developing, implementing, and enforcing environmental laws, regulations, and policies. However, under Trump’s administration, these values are viewed as unnecessary DEI-related spending and, therefore, the newest target of Zeldin’s cuts. Within the administration’s first month, 170 staff members working on “environmental justice” projects have been put on leave, saying “their function did not relate to the agency’s statutory duties or grant work.” These layoffs serve as a direct attack on environmental equality and DEI principles, as these disproportionately burdened communities will no longer possess the ability to advocate for themselves within the agency. 

At the dawn of the Trump Administration, the EPA consisted of 17,202 permanent staff. In February 2025, hundreds of probationary staffers, including recent hires and recently promoted employees, were fired under the new administration. Deeming this particular demographic of staffers as sources of “wasteful spending” could not be farther from the truth. These probationary employees mainly consist of the new generation inheriting the institution responsible for ensuring environmental and public health. Without proper experience, the incoming cohort will be unable to develop the knowledge and ethics necessary to become effective leaders in environmental regulation. Trump’s EPA is not only expediting pollution and overall ecological harm, but it is debilitating the next generation of leaders in the process. When the time comes to pass the torch, the agency’s recipients will not be equipped to attempt to reverse the careless atrocities the current administration is implementing. The cutbacks Zeldin proposes will bring the EPA’s staffing numbers on par with those of 1970—its first year of existence. This level of regression will be exacerbated by additional spending cuts from an already underwhelming $9 billion budget to around $3.2 billion. Our planet deserves adequate leadership and funding, but the likelihood of acquiring such necessities in this administration and those to come continues to weaken by the day.