White House walks back Trump statement on 65% EPA staff cuts

Washington: The White House on Thursday walked back President Donald Trump's claim the day before that the Environmental Protection Agency plans to cut 65 per cent of its workforce, saying that the environmental regulator plans to cut its spending by 65 per cent.

Trump took EPA employees by surprise on Wednesday when he said at his first cabinet meeting that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told him that the agency will be "cutting 65 or so percent of the people from environmental."

White House Spokesperson Taylor Rogers clarified Trump's statement on Thursday.

“President Trump, DOGE, and Administrator Zeldin are committed to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across all agencies," Rogers said in a statement. "After recently identifying $20 billion fraudulent in spending, Administrator Zeldin is committed to eliminating 65 per cent of the EPA’s wasteful spending.”

Trump on Wednesday had also caused confusion during that cabinet meeting when he was asked about the timing for the start of the tariffs for Canada and Mexico and replied that it would be April 2. A White House official, however, said Trump's previous March 4 deadline for the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods remained in effect "as of this moment."

Zeldin has touted through recent social media announcements that he has "discovered" $20 billion that the Biden administration fraudulently distributed to green groups that he is attempting to claw back from a third-party bank that is holding those funds.

But Democratic lawmakers are pushing back against what they call Zeldin's illegal efforts because the funding had been appropriated through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act for organizations to award grants across the US to help local communities develop clean energy projects.

The EPA, like other agencies, is bracing for widespread staff reductions as tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency plans to make more sweeping reductions targeting career employees, who make up the vast majority of the 2.3 million-strong civilian government workforce.