Christopher Schuler, christopher.schuler@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC – Today, during his first cabinet meeting since taking office, Donald Trump announced that he and Administrator Lee Zeldin are discussing “cutting 65 or so percent” of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Conservative estimates of a 65 percent reduction in staff would leave EPA with only around 6,000 people remaining to operationalize the roughly $12 billion dollar agency tasked with working nationwide to protect public health and the environment, including ensuring safe drinking water, clean air, and cleaning up dangerous superfund sites.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:
“Let’s call this what it is: sabotage of the Environmental Protection Agency and the critical work it performs every day. Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin’s sinister plan will do nothing but harm public health, endanger the lives and safety of millions of Americans including children and seniors, and increase the risk of deadly climate change-fueled weather events and natural disasters. Trump and Zeldin are abandoning the people they swore an oath to protect, all to do the bidding of the corporate polluters who bankrolled their political campaigns. The dedicated members of the EPA’s staff help protect every American’s right to clean air and water, and lead healthy and safe lives.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.