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

The U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA declared Friday it plans to reduce its workforce by and close its research and growth 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 executive 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 wellbeing and the surroundings while Powering the Great American Comeback EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin commented in a message USDA FIRES FOREIGN WORKERS FORM ADVERSARIAL COUNTRIES INCLUDING CHINA IN NATIONAL GUARD 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 reported the cuts will save the governing body million As part of the restructuring the EPA declared it plans to open a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions to replace the Office of Research and Improvement 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 Authorities Employees Council which represents thousands of EPA employees called the research and advancement 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 robustness and the climate '' Chen explained Its destruction will devastate residents fitness 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 account