EPA eliminated Office of Research and Development, laid off up to 1,155 scientists in 23% workforce cut
On July 18, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the elimination of the agency's Office of Research and Development — the scientific foundation underlying every federal air, water, and chemical safety standard for 55 years — and a reduction of more than 3,700 total EPA positions (nearly 23%). As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, and toxicologists received reduction-in-force notices. The administration said it would replace ORD with an "Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions" subordinated to deregulatory program offices.
Actors
On July 18, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the elimination of the agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD), the scientific backbone of federal environmental regulation since EPA's founding in 1970. The action accompanied a broader workforce reduction cutting more than 3,700 positions — nearly 23% of EPA staffing from January 2025 levels — bringing the total workforce to 12,448. As many as 1,155 scientists, including chemists, biologists, toxicologists, and environmental engineers, received reduction-in-force notices.
ORD had for 55 years produced the evidence base for EPA's regulatory mission: the toxicological studies underlying air quality standards, the epidemiological research supporting water safety limits, and the chemical hazard assessments informing Superfund and pesticide decisions. The administration said it would replace ORD with an "Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions," structured to subordinate scientific research to the agency's program offices — offices whose mandates under the Trump administration have been explicitly deregulatory.
The elimination represents one of the most severe reductions in federal scientific capacity since EPA's creation under President Nixon. Critics noted that without an independent research arm, the agency's ability to issue or defend evidence-based regulations in court would be substantially diminished. The restructuring came alongside separate layoffs across EPA's regional offices and program staff, with the administration citing projected savings of nearly $750 million.
Why we recorded this
Agencies cannot regulate what they do not understand. EPA's Office of Research and Development provided for 55 years the independent scientific basis for every major air quality standard, water safety limit, and chemical regulation the agency issues. Eliminating it — and subordinating the replacement to program offices whose Trump-era mandate is deregulation — removes the structural capacity for evidence-based rulemaking. The 1,155 reduction-in-force notices issued to chemists, biologists, and toxicologists constitute the largest single elimination of federal scientific expertise in the agency's history, severing the institutional knowledge base that democratic oversight of environmental protection depends on.
Sources
- EPA eliminates research and development office as it begins thousands of layoffs — PBS NewsHour primary accessed June 24, 2026
- EPA Eliminates Research and Development Office, Begins Layoffs — U.S. News & World Report secondary accessed June 24, 2026
See also
- EPA illegally terminates $2.8B Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program
- Trump exempts 180+ facilities from Clean Air Act air-toxics rules via an EPA email inbox
- Trump signed EO 14317 creating unlimited Schedule G political appointee class, bypassing Senate confirmation and SES caps
- Trump fired BLS Commissioner McEntarfer hours after weak jobs report, accusing her without evidence of rigging data
- VA Secretary Collins terminated collective bargaining for 80% of VA's 400,000-person workforce