scientists at US environmental agency speak out as layoffs being

Before Donald Trump became US president for the second time last month, one of his Republican allies revealed a plan to put US government employees “in trauma” so that they would leave their jobs. The strategy, articulated by Russell Vought, now a key figure on Trump’s White House team, was one part of a larger plan to downsize and defund government agencies. Less than a month into the new administration, many scientists at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say Vought’s plan seems to be working.

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“I’m scared to open my computer every morning,” says one EPA scientist who asked for anonymity because they fear reprisal. They are one of the more than 1,000 employees tasked with regulating air pollution, researching the health effects of toxic chemicals and more, who were notified last week that they might be fired. These staff members are still in their initial, ‘probationary’ period — usually within one year of starting their jobs — and therefore can be fired at any time, said an agency e-mail they received. “It’s just cruel,” says the scientist.

Termination notices for probationary employees started going out today at the EPA as the Trump administration accelerated efforts to fire this category of worker across the federal government. Thus far, the scientists who spoke to Nature have not been affected, but they fear they could be at any moment.

White House officials declined to respond to Nature’s questions. In a statement, the EPA said that the agency is “diligently implementing President Trump’s executive orders and associated guidance” and “remains committed to our mission of protecting human health and the environment”. The goal, it added, “is to create a more effective and efficient federal government”.

An agency under fire

The EPA has long been a target of Trump and his Republican allies. The politicians say that the agency hampers the US economy by issuing excessively strict pollution regulations. Republicans, including Vought, had called for the agency to be downsized and its authority reined in, as set out in ‘Project 2025’, a proposed blueprint for a second Trump administration.

Another action that EPA scientists say has been demoralizing is the announcement, on 11 February, by Trump-appointed agency administrator Lee Zeldin that 171 staff members were being placed on administrative leave. These employees work on programmes related to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental justice, which focuses on protecting poor communities that are vulnerable to pollution and climate change. On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order asking all agencies to eliminate “radical and wasteful government DEI programs”, including environmental-justice positions.

In his announcement, Zeldin accused the administration of former US president Joe Biden, a Democrat, of pushing “ideological” goals with those programmes. “This ends now,” Zeldin said in a statement. “We will be good stewards of tax dollars and do everything in our power to deliver clean air, land, and water to every American, regardless of race, religion, background, and creed.”

So far, EPA scientists interviewed by Nature say that core research activities at the agency, such as papers being published and studies being run, have not been significantly affected, although two of its main science advisory panels, which provide technical guidance to the agency, have been disbanded so that new members can be appointed. And the agency has taken down the website of an environmental-justice tool known as EJScreen, which maps threats such as pollution alongside demographic trends to identify vulnerable communities. But many scientists fear it’s just a matter of time.

“The only good news right now is that the administration’s attention seems to be elsewhere,” says Andy Miller, who retired from EPA’s primary research branch, the Office of Research and Development (ORD), in December. “It’s unlikely that will continue.”

Worries over safety

Nature spoke to multiple staff members within the EPA’s environmental-justice programme who also asked for anonymity because they fear retribution. One of them, now among those on administrative leave, says the situation has injected uncertainty into every facet of their life, from career prospects to the mortgage payments on their home. They also worry about their personal safety. Last week, reports emerged of a ‘DEI Watch List’ created by a right-wing organization that exposed the names, photos and salaries of federal workers, many of them people of colour, whose jobs are linked to DEI efforts. Its aim, the group says, is to restore “common sense” to the US government.

“I’ve got close friends” on that list, one EPA staff member says, and fears they’ll be added, too, if the organization turns its attention to the agency. “It’s not even about targeting institutions and funding and priorities: people are actually being targeted as individuals.”

One environmental scientist at the agency says that this is their second time as a probationary employee under Trump. They re-entered probationary status recently because of a transfer to a new role in the agency. They note that many probationary employees can appeal a termination if it was because of discrimination or for political reasons, but that assumes that normal rules within the government remain intact.