The decision to fire or reassign employees is part of Trump officials’ push to close the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

On March 12, the new EPA unveiled what it called "the most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history" by rolling back 31 initiatives and eliminating the agency's DEI arm a

The reduction-in-force letters were sent to nearly 200 employees of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.