EPA Places Nearly 200 Employees on Leave in Response to Trump DEI Order

The agency said 11 of the employees were working “in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility” and 160 were working on environmental justice initiatives.

By Lisa Held

February 11, 2025

February 11, 2025 – The EPA announced this morning that it placed 171 employees on administrative leave as a result of President Trump’s order to end federal government programs that prioritize diversity and equity.

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In the announcement, the agency said 11 of the employees were working “in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility” and 160 were working on environmental justice initiatives. In the past, the agency included environmental justice considerations in various efforts that touch the food system, including rules that protect farmworkers and rural residents from pesticide spray drift and a proposal to reduce water pollution from slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants.

“The previous Administration used DEI and Environmental Justice to advance ideological priorities, distributing billions of dollars to organizations in the name of climate equity. This ends now,” EPA Administrator Lee 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.” (Link to this post.)

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Lisa Held is Civil Eats’ senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Read more >

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EPA Places Nearly 200 Employees on Leave in Response to Trump DEI Order