The White House told federal agencies to submit plans by March 13 for “large-scale reductions in force,” the first phase of an effort to drastically reduce the size of the US government.

Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said recent layoffs at EPA, coupled with Zeldin's comments about sharp spending cuts, show he had no intent to follow through on a pledge during his confirmation hearing to work collaboratively with EPA's staff.

A White House spokeswoman said the 65% figure referred to expected spending cuts at the agency, rather than staffing levels, a comment that was amplified by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “We don't need to be spending all that money that went through the EPA last year,