The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), once a steadfast guardian of America’s air, water, and ecosystems, is facing an existential crisis. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s re-election, more than 300 EPA career employees have walked out the door—not out of convenience, but in protest and fear of what the agency is becoming.
Inside the EPA’s walls, a painful dilemma looms for many who remain: resign quietly, or stay and fight against an administration determined to dismantle the very mission they’ve dedicated their careers to upholding.
A Mission Undermined
Since its founding, the EPA has served as a bulwark against environmental degradation, enforcing laws that protect human health and the planet. But the agency’s direction under Trump’s second term has raised alarm among its ranks. From reversing climate initiatives to dismantling environmental justice programs, the administration is orchestrating a seismic shift in federal environmental policy.
Trump’s early moves included offers to staff: resign voluntarily, and still receive pay through September. While some saw this as a soft exit, many called it coercion disguised as a bonus. At the same time, proposals to move EPA headquarters out of Washington, D.C., and strip civil service protections from expert positions stirred further panic—potentially transforming an agency built on science and service into one staffed by political loyalty.
“We Feel Terrorized”
Among those still working at the agency, many describe a culture of fear and uncertainty. “We feel terrorized,” said one scientist, whose work involves analyzing pollution levels at contaminated sites. Like others, he spoke anonymously, fearing retaliation from leadership.
Career employees recount being told to prepare for layoffs and to download their human resources files—a chilling warning that they may soon be out of a job. For some, it’s too much to bear. A young scientist fresh out of graduate school, who once saw the EPA as her dream job, said everything changed the moment she received an email marking her as a potential probationary termination. “All that came crashing down,” she said, now bracing to return home and put her career on pause.
Others remain out of duty, not defiance. “If I leave, my experience leaves with me—and no one will replace it,” said one veteran air quality expert. He, like many others, is staying not for a paycheck, but to preserve the integrity of the EPA’s work, even as that mission is being rewritten.
Environmental Justice on the Chopping Block
Nowhere is this upheaval more profound than in the Office of Environmental Justice. Established in the early 1990s, the office focused on protecting communities disproportionately affected by pollution—often lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
Under the new administration, environmental justice work is under siege. An executive order aimed at eliminating all “wasteful government DEI programs” includes directives to dismantle the environmental justice division entirely. The office’s tools, including its widely used mapping platform EJScreen, have already been taken offline. Internal meetings at EPA headquarters have turned tearful as staff prepare for administrative leave or outright termination.
If the cuts go through, over 250 staffers dedicated to this work may be let go. “We’re all preparing for the worst,” said one employee. Yet many are choosing to stay until they’re forced out, holding the line as long as they can.
The Ethics of Resistance
The administration’s reshuffling extends far beyond personnel changes. It includes aligning the EPA with the very industries it regulates. Since returning to office, Trump has pledged to weaken regulations and has placed fossil fuel and chemical industry insiders in key leadership roles.
New EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, confirmed just days ago, was praised in a press release by representatives from the petroleum, mining, and cattle industries—many of which have clashed with the EPA over regulation. His public commitment to make America “energy dominant” signals a shift from environmental protection to industrial empowerment.
The repercussions could be devastating. “Nastier stuff than usual will come out of factories. More people will get cancer. More people will die,” warned a senior EPA scientist. His work—focused on protecting polluted communities—may soon be eliminated altogether.
A Crisis of Conscience
Despite mounting pressure, many staffers remain fiercely loyal to the EPA’s original mission. “This is harassment,” one long-serving chemist said. “But it’s not going to break me.” Another scientist who oversees cleanups of hazardous waste sites has a similar defiance. “They want us gone. But nothing will make me quit.”
Some are choosing subtle resistance. One EPA staffer recently bought a Black History Month T-shirt, intending to wear it proudly when returning to the office. A small act of protest? Perhaps. But one laced with symbolic defiance in a time when the agency’s commitment to equity and justice is being systematically erased.
As one EPA attorney put it: “Personally, it makes me want to hang on until I have the chance to do—or not do—something worth getting fired for.”
What’s at Stake
The reshaping of the EPA under the Trump administration is more than a bureaucratic shift. It’s a crisis of ethics, science, and democracy. The forced exodus of skilled experts from a vital regulatory agency leaves communities unprotected, public health at risk, and the environment vulnerable to unchecked exploitation.
And yet, amid this turmoil, many EPA employees are choosing to stay. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s safe. But because they believe in the agency’s core mission: to protect human health and the environment.
Their resolve may not stop the purge. But it does serve as a reminder that integrity can endure—even when institutions are under attack.