President Donald Trump recently said the Environmental Protection Agency would cut 65% of jobs as part of cuts, but the White House has since clarified that he was referring to spending – not jobs.
At his first Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said that he talked with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin about “cutting 65 or so percent from the people from environmental,” but a White House official told the Washington Examiner that Trump meant 65% of the EPA’s spending would be cut.
“President Trump, DOGE, and Administrator Zeldin are committed to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across all agencies. After recently identifying $20 billion fraudulent in spending, Administrator Zeldin is committed to eliminating 65% of the EPA’s wasteful spending.” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, over 18,000 people work for the EPA. The budget for the agency in 2024 for $9.16 billion. The total funding available for the EPA in 2025 is $48.6 billion, but the agency has only committed to spending $12.3 billion so far.
Zeldin has been vocal about cuts to grants and other spending approved by the EPA under the Biden administration, which he claims were wasteful. On Tuesday, Zeldin announced that the agency canceled another 20 grants, totaling more than $60 million, bringing the total amount cut to $171 million.
“The EPA, in partnership with DOGE, have wasted no time clawing back the waste and abuse of the previous administration. The American people elected President Trump with a mandate to restore accountability of government and ensure that dollars spent represent taxpayer interests,” Zeldin said in a statement Tuesday. “Today’s announcement of 20 canceled grants and another $60,958,537.30 in immediate taxpayer savings reinforces our commitment to transparency.”
$2 BILLION IN ‘GOLD BARS’ SENT FROM EPA TO ABRAMS-LINKED CLIMATE ORGANIZATION: LEE ZELDIN
The grants the EPA has reviewed have ranged in size and scope, with one of the grants found as part of the alleged $20 billion “gold bar scheme” from the Biden EPA going to a Stacey Abrams-linked green energy group.
The group, Power Forward Communities, had $2 billion in grants earmarked for it through the Inflation Reduction Act despite having only reported $100 in revenue during its first three months after its founding in late 2023, per a report.