Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Democrats say Trump administration moves to slash agencies could undermine its stated goal of speeding up environmental permitting.
Why it matters: Gutting staff and slimming down agency resources will only lead to slower bureaucratic processes and more hurdles for the energy industry, the Democrats say.
- The administration "may well be actually causing themselves a number of problems," Sen. Martin Heinrich said.
Zoom in: National Environmental Policy Act reviewers in EPA's Region 6 — a top oil- and gas-producing region that includes Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico — were on administrative leave as of Friday.
- They were working in a branch of the region's Environmental Justice, Community Engagement and Environmental Review office, said Justin Chen, president of AFGE Local 1003.
- That's prompted concerns from Texas Democrats that the agency won't be able to perform environmental reviews efficiently — or protect communities from pollution.
EPA has also put its entire Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights on leave, and agencies across the government have been firing probationary employees and trying to slash programs under the direction of DOGE.
- EPA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
What we're watching: A Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity told Axios that they've also heard industry concerns that potential probationary employee firings at BLM field offices could cause permitting delays for oil and gas projects.
- Staffing problems in those offices have already been causing problems for basic permitting applications, so future reductions could make that worse, the aide said.
The big picture: Democrats have long said that bolstering agency staff is key to unlocking faster permitting processes because it allows for more feds to conduct complex reviews.
- They sent tens of millions of dollars to EPA and other agencies to hire staff and develop quicker processes for environmental permits via the IRA.
- "It takes bodies to do this stuff," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told Axios.
- "If you accept the proposition that there are plenty of people in the federal government that add a lot of value and make things happen, when you fire them, that makes things less likely to happen — like permitting reform."
The other side: "Democrats always assume that the only way to solve problems is spend more money and have more people. Republicans are trying to look for efficiencies," Rep. Morgan Griffith, who chairs Energy & Commerce's environment subcommittee, told Axios.
- "Looking at ways to make permitting more efficient," he said, "maybe you don't need all those people."
Between the lines: It's unclear how this will play out over the long term —whether permit reviewers will be permanently fired or how Trump will administer laws like NEPA.
- But fewer staff can produce shoddier reviews, which can lead to easy challenges in the courts.
- "You can still issue permits quickly if you're short on staff. But if those permits aren't high-enough quality to survive legal challenges, then they're going to have to go back and do them again," said Philip Rossetti, an energy researcher at the R Street Institute.
- Trump has also effectively eliminated CEQ's long-standing authority to dictate NEPA implementing regulations — a move some legal experts believe could lead to inconsistency across federal permitting agencies.
