02/06/2025

The Administration Moves to Shutter Environmental Offices across the Government

It plans to close the EPA’s environmental justice office

In a little over two weeks, the Trump administration has taken unprecedented steps to shutter or remake federal offices focused on the environment, causing turmoil and confusion for current and former employees.

The latest shake-up came Wednesday, when Trump appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified staff members that they plan to close the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights and place its employees on administrative leave, according to three people familiar with the matter who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The tumult has also engulfed the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, a little-known yet crucial office tasked with defending the federal government’s environmental actions in court. Trump appointees recently announced plans to fire about 20 employees at the division, among other actions that have sent morale there plummeting.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.