WH Clarifies Trump Statement on EPA Staff Cuts

The White House on Thursday walked back President Donald Trump's claim from the day before that the Environmental Protection Agency plans to cut 65% of its workforce, saying the environmental regulator plans to cut its spending by 65%.

Trump took EPA employees by surprise on Wednesday when he said at his first cabinet meeting that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told him the agency will be "cutting 65 or so percent of the people from environmental."

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers clarified Trump's statement on Thursday, saying that more workforce cuts will also continue alongside spending cuts.

The agency, which has around 16,000 employees, has already announced that it has terminated nearly 400 probationary employees, and placed on leave nearly 200 employees who worked on environmental justice issues at the agency.

"President Trump, DOGE, and Administrator Zeldin are committed to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across all agencies," Rogers said in a statement. "After recently identifying $20 billion in fraudulent spending, Administrator Zeldin is committed to eliminating 65% of the EPA's wasteful spending."

Trump on Thursday also clarified in a post on Truth Social that his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will go into effect Tuesday, after some confusion on Wednesday when he said they would take effect on April 2.

Zeldin has touted through recent social media announcements that he has "discovered" $20 billion that the Biden administration fraudulently distributed to green groups that he is attempting to claw back from a third-party bank that is holding those funds.

But Democrat lawmakers are pushing back against what they call Zeldin's illegal efforts because the funding had been appropriated through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act for organizations to award grants across the U.S. to help local communities develop clean energy projects.

The EPA, like other agencies, is bracing for widespread staff reductions as tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency plans to make more sweeping reductions targeting career employees, who make up the vast majority of the 2.3 million-strong civilian government workforce.