In its third week, the Trump administration continued its work shrinking the federal workforce and certain programs, while political appointees continued to get confirmed.
As of Friday morning, the resignation offer that first appeared in the “Fork in the Road” email to employees has been paused by federal courts, and its legality and enforceability remains unclear.
That hasn’t stopped agency heads from taking further action to shrink certain offices or agencies. On Thursday, the EPA informed most staff working in the agency’s Office of Environmental Justice that they would be placed on leave. Meanwhile, the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development continues despite ongoing court cases. Employees in both agencies deliver programs that support waste and recycling initiatives domestically and abroad.
Elsewhere, new political appointees have been named, including for multiple EPA regional offices. The U.S. Senate has also confirmed new leaders this week, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Both are likely to oversee issues pertaining to the waste and recycling industry in their roles.
Here’s a look at relevant personnel changes and Trump administration actions taken during his third week in office.
EPA personnel changes:
- More than 160 employees in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice have been placed on administrative leave, the agency confirmed in a statement. This follows an executive order published on Trump’s first day in office targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and specifically calling for the termination of environmental justice work. An agency spokesperson said the employees’ work “did not relate to the agency’s statutory duties or grant work.”
- The EPA’s political appointees are demoting career officials, the New York Times reported. That includes the principal deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management, Barry Breen, who oversees Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act offices. Officials of the same rank at the Office of Research and Development, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance and the Office of Mission Support were also demoted, per the Times.
- The U.S. EPA has announced appointees to lead EPA Regions 2, 6 and 7. Mark Martucci, the newly appointed Region 2 administrator, is a former New York state senator. Scott Mason, who previously served in the first Trump administration as director of EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office, will serve as Region 6 administrator. Jim Macy, who previously served as head of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, will be administrator for Region 7.
Cabinet updates
- Pamela Bondi was approved as attorney general on Wednesday, a role where she will oversee federal antitrust and compliance efforts. Bondi previously served as attorney general for the state of Florida. In that role, she approved WM’s purchase of Southern Waste Systems for $525 million. Records show Bondi was also a paid lobbyist for Republic Services in 2019. In that role, she lobbied on behalf of the company over cleanup efforts at the Superfund site outside St. Louis, Missouri, which contains radioactive materials, per a report from Public Citizen.
- Chris Wright, the former CEO and chairman of Liberty Energy, was confirmed as energy secretary on Monday. In the role, he will oversee programs that previously have funded chemical recycling projects, battery recycling and other waste and recycling related facilities.
Funding rollbacks:
- Recycling and waste projects led by the United States Agency for International Development are in limbo after the Trump administration continued to dismantle the agency and placed thousands of employees on administrative leave. USAID led numerous international waste and recycling initiatives. They include a program to reduce packaging waste and increase recycled content in humanitarian assistance supply chains and projects to improve recycling programs in Eastern Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. In 2024, the agency announced it would commit $35.7 million in funding to projects that support work set forth in Save Our Seas 2.0, an act signed by Trump in 2020.
- Agency staff are reporting that access to funding for programs across the U.S. EPA remains limited this week. That’s despite courts issuing a temporary restraining order to the Trump administration halting any freeze. Lawmakers are also reportedly getting involved.
- John Sneed, director of the Loan Programs Office in the U.S. Department of Energy, may cancel existing loans first announced under the Biden administration, according to Bloomberg. Announced loans that may be in jeopardy include a $2 billion loan to Redwood Materials’ battery recycling facility, a $475 million loan to Li-Cycle’s battery recycling facility and a $183 million loan to IRG Erie’s plastic recycling facility.
