One year into Donald Trump's second term, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has undergone significant changes, including staff reductions and program cuts, prompting resistance from current and former employees. Workers like Montana Krukowski and Missy Haniewicz, who signed a public dissent letter, faced firings but are now appealing through legal channels. Advocacy groups are supporting efforts to preserve scientific integrity and rebuild the agency.
In winter 2024, Montana Krukowski joined the EPA's Chicago regional office to assist tribal governments with safe drinking water and oversee commercial airlines in the Midwest. However, as 2025 began, the incoming Trump administration introduced sweeping alterations. Executive orders froze routine travel and spending, halting inspections of water systems.
In February 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin launched the “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative, shifting focus toward “energy dominance” and positioning the United States as “the artificial intelligence capital of the world.” This move, according to current and former employees, undermined the agency's core mission on clean air, water, and land. Hundreds of grants were canceled, including those for water sampling and treatment, while efforts to address lead poisoning, wildfire smoke, heat waves, and childhood asthma were slashed.
Programs like EJScreen, a tool for identifying pollution-vulnerable communities, were discontinued amid broader cuts to environmental justice initiatives. Missy Haniewicz, a former EPA employee in Denver, described the mission shift as “emotionally upsetting” and “professionally upsetting.” The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), which assesses chemical health risks, faces dismantling, with industry groups like the American Chemistry Council pushing the “No IRIS Act of 2025” to limit its regulatory use.
Mass firings targeted probationary staff, reducing the EPA workforce by about one quarter by summer 2025 through reductions in force, early retirements, and layoffs. In spring 2025, over 138 employees, including Krukowski and Haniewicz, signed the “EPA Declaration of Dissent” published by Stand Up for Science, criticizing the changes. Signers were placed on administrative leave and later fired; Krukowski in August 2025 for work no longer in the public interest, and Haniewicz in October for “conduct unbecoming.” Sarah Sullivant, another signatory, called the terminations “disproportionate to be terminated for exercising free speech.”
Groups like the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), formed in 2017, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) are aiding displaced workers and preserving datasets. EPN senior policy director Peter Murchie emphasized that “environmental health is an enterprise, meaning it’s not just federal.” PEER's Tim Whitehouse noted weak scientific integrity policies, stressing the need for protected whistleblower reporting. Legal challenges, including lawsuits by the American Federation of Government Employees, have led to some reinstatements, such as 170 probationary workers in December 2025. Former employees like Ted Yackulic, with 36 years at the EPA, continue appeals to return to projects like the Duwamish River cleanup. Chicago union president Nicole Cantello highlighted workers' desire to “rebuild this agency” for future environmental protection.
