“This man is not our boss” — EPA workers rally against DOGE cuts

Environmental Protection Agency workers took to the streets across the US today to protest drastic cuts President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE have made at the federal agency whose mission is to “protect human health and the environment.” 

Musk, the face of DOGE and the target of growing protests at Tesla dealerships, was a bigger name at the rally than Trump. “How do you spell corruption? E-L-O-N” workers and their supporters chanted at a picket line in front of a federal building in New York City. Some held signs with “this man is not our boss” written in red over a sketch of Musk’s face. More than 150 people rallied with picket signs chanting “Move, DOGE, get out the way,” to the tune of a Ludacris song, and “What do we do when clean land/air/water/science is under attack? Stand up, fight back!”

The workers, represented by union AFGE Council 238, held marches in 8 cities as part of a ‘National Day of Action.’ Plans to dismantle much of the agency and weaken protections against pollution put Americans at risk, EPA workers warn.

“I work on enforcing regulations that deal with hazardous waste and toxic substances, which is work that I feel is not a partisan issue,” says Suzanne Englot, an attorney who works in enforcement at the EPA. “Everyone wants to make sure that hazardous waste and toxic substances are properly regulated, disposed of, stored and all of that. But in these times, it makes me nervous that things are going to change.”

The EPA, under Trump’s executive orders, is now barred from taking any enforcement or compliance actions that would “shut down any stage of energy production” unless there’s an “imminent and substantial” health threat, according to a memo that EPA leadership issued on March 12th.

On the same day, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced what he called “the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” proposing rollbacks on dozens of rules meant to curb pollution from power plants, oil and gas refineries, chemical plants, cars and trucks, factories, and more.

The Trump administration has also moved to shutter the agency’s scientific research office and environmental justice offices. Trump has mused about cutting the EPA’s budget by 65 percent. Around 1,100 probationary employees at the EPA received notice in January telling them the agency “has the right to immediately terminate you.” A federal judge later ordered the Trump administration to rehire hundreds of workers who had been laid off at the agency. And the White House faces more legal challenges over its dismantling of federal agencies and deregulation spree.    

Both Trump and billionaire-backer Musk complained about regulations slowing companies down during last year’s election season. “It costs much more to do things environmentally clean,” Trump said in an interview with Joe Rogan on October 25th. 

“We’ve got to have sensible spending. And we’ve got to have deregulation …. I’m pro-environment, [but] I don’t think we should vilify the oil and gas industry because they’re keeping civilization going right now,” Musk said in his X interview with Trump on August 12th. Musk later wielded a chainsaw “for bureaucracy” at the Conservative Political Action Conference stage last month.  

“Elon is perpetuating a climate of fear and targeting federal workers and the mission that they carry out to protect human health and the environment,” EPA environmental engineer Harper Stanfield told The Verge at the rally in New York City. “We can’t let EPA be silenced by billionaires.”

Trump has accepted tens of millions of dollars in funding from the oil and gas industry. Elon Musk spent more than $250 million helping Trump get elected. The president then handed Musk the power to dramatically makeover federal agencies through his post leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

In an email to The Verge, the EPA said that it’s “listening” to employees and made cuts to comply with Trump’s agenda to eliminate programs it considers diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Stanfield and Englot said at the rally today that they’re calling on Congress to act as a check on the executive branch, and asking people to reach out to their elected representatives to support the EPA’s work. 

“Democrat, Republican, independent, whoever it is, everyone is impacted by this,” Englot says. “EPA’s work touches everyone’s lives.”