President Donald Trump slashed major energy and environmental agencies’ staffing by about 16 percent across the board during his first year back in office as his team sought deep cuts to the federal workforce.
That’s according to data released this month by the Office of Personnel Management. The updated numbers show steep reductions in staffing at EPA and the departments of Energy and the Interior between Trump’s inauguration and Dec. 31, 2025.
More than 25,000 employees left those three agencies during that time, including about 9,500 who left under the administration’s “deferred resignation program,” which offered workers incentives to resign or retire early. Some employees’ separations took effect on Dec. 31, driving up the number of total departures at year’s end.
EPA, DOE and Interior also hired new employees last year, leaving their total workforces of 86,500 workers down from 102,800 at the start of 2025.
