
Trump hints at deep cuts at the EPA, alarming workers and environmental groups
CBSN
President Trump said the head of the Environmental Protection Agency is prepared to implement deep staffing and spending cuts as part of the administration's efforts to downsize the executive branch, raising fears among employees and environmental groups about the impacts of the reductions.
"He thinks he's going to be cutting 65 or so percent of people from Environmental," Mr. Trump said at his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, referring to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. "You had a lot of people who weren't doing their job. They were just obstructionists."
A White House official later clarified that the president was referring to cutting 65% of spending at EPA, not necessarily a 65% cut in staff. Nonetheless, the remarks stoked concern among the EPA's workforce.

The threat of tornadoes moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, a day after a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up dust storms that caused deadly crashes and fanned more than 100 wildfires in several central states. Fatalities were reported in Missouri and Texas.

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When the Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970, its mission was to protect the environment and human health. Since then, scientists, health experts and advocates have worked to implement regulations aimed at protecting and cleaning the air we breathe and the water we drink. Many of these regulations, which were aimed at cleaning up the air, also helped reduce carbon emissions, which can contribute to climate change – so it was a win for our bodies and the planet.