EPA announces 23% workforce reduction and closure of research office as part of federal streamlining

The U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA commented Friday it plans to reduce its workforce by and close its research and rise office The loss of more than employees comes after layoffs and incentives to leave the agency amid the Trump administration s broad effort to streamline the federal authorities Under President Trump's leadership EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human wellness and the milieu while Powering the Great American Comeback EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin declared in a comment USDA FIRES FOREIGN WORKERS FORM ADVERSARIAL COUNTRIES INCLUDING CHINA IN NATIONAL DEFENSE PROTECTION MOVE This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars The EPA declared the cuts will save the establishment million As part of the restructuring the EPA commented it plans to open a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions to replace the Office of Research and Advance saying the new office would allow it to focus on research more than ever before This comes a week after the Supreme Court issued a ruling clearing the way for the administration to conduct mass layoffs Justin Chen president of American Federation of Establishment Employees Council which represents thousands of EPA employees called the research and rise office the heart and brain of the EPA STATE DEPARTMENT TO BEGIN MASS LAYOFFS OF ABOUT EMPLOYEES IN COMING DAYS Without it we don t have the means to assess impacts upon human fitness and the conditions '' Chen mentioned Its destruction will devastate constituents robustness in our country Fox News Digital has reached out to the EPA for comment This announcement also comes two weeks after employees signed a declaration of dissent claiming the Trump administration was hurting the agency s mission CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe administration claimed the employees were unlawfully undermining the president s agenda Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this review