Few agencies became more power-crazed during the Biden era than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
A few of the low-lights, as a reminder about how grasping and dictatorial it was becoming, include:
If there was any way a bureaucrat could virtue signal, weaken our nation, and be rewarded eco-activism with our tax dollars, that person found the EPA a great place to be.
That was, until President Donald Trump won in November.
Perhaps the EPA’s gang of bureaucrats thought they could continue to thwart the President’s will by conducting “business as usual.”
Happily, for taxpayers, that approach has now gone to the landfill.
The new EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, plans to cut approximately 65% of its budget.
Mr. Trump said Mr. Zeldin “thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from environmental. And we’re going to speed up the process, too, at the same time.”Within minutes, managers at the agency said they received a White House memo telling them to prepare for mass layoffs.The memo, which was sent to leaders of multiple agencies, said that the federal government “is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt.” It did not mention the 65 percent goal, but laid out steps for the E.P.A. to prepare for what is known as a reduction in force, which would result in eliminating jobs.Hours later, an E.P.A. official said Mr. Trump was referring to overall agency budget cuts and not a 65 percent reduction in personnel.
And while it is not the “10,000” that would be 65% reduction in staff, Zeldin did indicate 1,000 were being targeted for dismissal shortly after he was confirmed.
Some progress is being made on this front.
Such a gutting of EPA’s budget would almost certainly mean significant reductions in staff. The president’s statement came shortly after the White House ordered EPA and other federal agencies to submit plans for “large-scale reductions in force” by mid-March.EPA earlier this month terminated 388 workers, or about 2.5 percent of its workforce. However, at least some of those personnel have been called back, mirroring rehirings at other agencies for personnel who were apparently fired inadvertently.
There is joy on social media over this culling of bureaucratic power. An agency that was tasked with preventing pollution is now trying to direct personal choices in what we eat, how we travel, and what fuels were are entitled to use.
Trump clearly learned some valuable lessons in governance and bureaucratic demolition.
And those that retain their jobs actually have to show up for work.
The climate at the EPA is about to get much, much colder.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY