EPA eliminates Office of Research and Development, fires up to 1,155 scientists under reorganization

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin eliminated Office of Research and Development Jul. 19, 2025, affecting 1,540 positions across 10 facilities nationwide

Up to 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and scientists face termination—75% of research program staff according to House Science Committee documents

Total EPA workforce drops from Jan. 2025 level of 16,155 employees to 12,448—a 23% reduction representing largest EPA cuts since Reagan era

ORD elimination saves $748.8 million according to agency, but destroys five decades of research preventing 200,000 premature deaths annually

EPA will create new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions, though critics call this rebranding to obscure research capacity destruction

Project 2025 specifically targeted ORD for elimination, calling it 'bloated, unaccountable, closed, outcome-driven, hostile to public and legislative input'

ORD facilities stretch from Florida and North Carolina to Oregon, with laboratory functions supposedly continuing under new structure

139 EPA employees placed on administrative leave in Jul. after signing 'declaration of dissent' protesting agency policy changes

Zeldin previously announced 65% EPA budget cuts as long-term goal, making ORD elimination first step in massive downsizing

Rep. Zoe Lofgren called elimination 'a travesty' with 'generational impacts on Americans' health and safety,' while industry praised deregulation

American Federation of Government Employees Council 238 president called ORD 'the heart and brain of the EPA' without which impact assessment becomes impossible