Trump faces backlash as American taxpayers paid $86 million for EPA staff while they 'sat at home'
In July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is set to eliminate approximately 500 positions in its Office of Research and Development, contributing to a total loss of about 3,700 staff since President Donald Trump took office. The agency is aiming to reduce its workforce by nearly 25%, from over 16,000 to around 12,500 employees. This has affected thousands through early retirements, buyouts, and targeted terminations, particularly among those involved in research and environmental justice. Amidst this tense situation, The Washington Post has reported that the EPA paid $86.5 million to more than 2,600 employees placed on administrative leave.
As part of Trump's effort to cut waste, the data collected by The Washington Post via a Freedom of Information Act request indicated the first expenses of shrinking the government workforce began this July, when nearly 154,000 government workers were bought out; some accepted agency-specific offers, while others chose to take Elon Musk's "Fork in the Road" offer. The administration has not revealed the overall buyout expenses, but estimates from Senate Democrats indicate billions were spent on leave payouts.
“We are doing more with less and remain confident EPA has the resources needed to accomplish the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment, fulfill all statutory obligations, and make the best-informed decisions based on the gold standard of science,” EPA spokeswoman Brigit Hirsch said. “EPA will be an exceptional steward of taxpayer resources and will be better able to deliver on its core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback.” After signing a letter denouncing administrative changes, over 140 EPA employees were placed on administrative leave, and 15 of them were later dismissed.
Some staff got reduction-in-force notifications because they did not correspond with agency goals, while over 2,300 employees were given the option to defer their resignation and remain on paid leave until their separation. By year's end, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency would cut its workforce from over 16,000 to roughly 12,500. Advocates and former workers voiced worries that these activities would have a detrimental effect on environmental and public health. After being placed on administrative leave for signing a dissent letter, longtime employees, such as Ted Yackulic, a veteran EPA lawyer involved in Superfund site cleanups, voiced concerns that the agency's environmental and health protections would be undone.
Yackulic cautioned that the removal of knowledgeable lawyers could seriously impede the cleaning of hazardous premises. On the other hand, Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Heritage Foundation proposed that some EPA workers might not be required because of the Trump administration's emphasis on fossil fuel output and energy cost reduction, seeing leave as a chance for them to look for other employment. The 2016 Administrative Leave Act limits employees from taking it. This act was allegedly violated by the Trump administration, according to experts. According to Don Moynihan of the University of Michigan, paid administrative leave is limited by law to a maximum of 10 days, following which investigative leave may be granted for a maximum of 90 days.
“Congress was pretty clear in saying to the federal government, ‘We don’t like to see you paying employees to do nothing, so you need to limit the use of administrative leave,’” Moynihan said. “Congress did not intend that agencies could pay $86 million for their workers just to sit at home because they didn’t want them to do their jobs,” Rob Shriver, former OPM acting director during the Biden administration, criticized the Trump administration for misuse.
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