WASHINGTON (February 6, 2025)— On behalf of the Trump administration, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leaders notified Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights employees on Wednesday that the administration plans to place staff on administrative leave, according to news reports and information shared with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
This action follows a separate directive issued during Trump’s first week in office terminating federal employees involved in internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.
Below is a statement by Chitra Kumar, managing director of the Climate and Energy Program UCS and a former official with the EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
“The employees notified that they will be placed on leave work to reduce exposure to harmful pollution and the impacts of climate change in historically overburdened communities. Everyone in the United States deserves clean air and clean water. President Trump’s decision to slash staff dedicated to that goal is disappointing, especially considering his stated EPA goals of maintaining clean air and water.
“The EPA’s environmental justice office was created to challenge the historic pattern of pollution disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color. Its work is based on robust research that identifies communities most affected by pollution. Once again, the Trump administration is sidelining both science and the nation’s most overburdened people.
“The Union of Concerned Scientists calls on state and federal officials to condemn this decision and demand that federal funds are directed to the communities across the country that need them the most.”