The swamp is being drained once again. The Trump administration has sent shockwaves through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by notifying over 1,000 employees that they are on the chopping block, marking a decisive step in dismantling bloated government agencies notorious for regulatory overreach.
EPA employees who have been with the agency for less than a year received an email last week notifying them that they could be dismissed immediately, according to NBC News citing sources familiar with the matter.
These employees, who are still on their “probationary” status, were bluntly informed that their tenure could end without delay at the administration’s discretion.
“As a probationary/ trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you,” the email reads. “The process for probationary removal is that you receive a notice of termination, and your employment is ended immediately.”
The notification—rightly seen as a warning shot against entrenched bureaucrats—comes as part of President Trump’s broader push to slash wasteful federal agencies, restore accountability, and put American taxpayers first.
NBC News reported:
Nicole Cantello, the president of AFGE Local 704, another union local that represents EPA employees, said she, too, knew of several employees who were on the list but said they had more than a year of contiguous federal service.
CNN was the first to report on the email to EPA workers, which plays into a kind of whiplash for some federal employees as environmental policy pingpongs depending on which party controls the executive branch.
Cantello said the AFGE Local 704 union is “concerned the agency will conduct a mass firing of probationary employees.”
“Probationary employees are usually let go because they don’t perform well or were disciplined. We’ve never had a probationary mass firing in the 33 years I’ve been at EPA. This is unprecedented in scope and scale,” she said, adding that probationary employees have few protections.
“There will be little anyone can do about it as long as they state a reason,” Cantello said, referring to EPA leaders.
This move follows Trump’s prior efforts to downsize the government, including the buyout offers to federal employees if they resign by February 6.
The federal workers who accept Trump’s offer will receive pay and benefits through September 30.
Over 20,000 federal workers have accepted Donald Trump’s buyout offer, a senior administration official has confirmed.
Axios reports that while the number represents one percent of the federal workforce, it is still way below the White House target of between five and 10 percent.
During Joe Biden’s regime, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced several controversies and criticisms
In January 2024, an Inspector General audit revealed that the EPA failed to report approximately $7 billion in award-level obligations and outlays during fiscal year 2022. This underreporting led to concerns about the agency’s financial oversight and the potential misallocation of taxpayer funds.
A report released in October 2024 criticized the EPA’s distribution of nearly $3 billion in “environmental justice” grants. The report alleged that funds were allocated to activist groups with political agendas, raising questions about cronyism and the appropriate use of taxpayer money.
In February 2023, a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, led to significant environmental concerns. A subsequent whistleblower allegation in May 2024 accused the EPA of delaying the deployment of chemical-sensing aircraft and turning off chemical sensors during the response, suggesting a potential cover-up of the incident’s severity.
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