Overview

• Researchers were told at a town hall this week to halt nearly all papers, with only studies already at journal proof stage allowed to proceed, according to two employees cited by The Washington Post.
• Staff were instructed not to submit new work until it passes a fresh internal review process, a requirement employees described as unprecedented.
• One EPA employee said the pause could sideline “millions of dollars” of research that informs public-health decisions on drinking water and pollutants.
• EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch said “great scientific work is continuing” but did not provide details on the new review or a timeline for lifting the pause.
• The order follows months of EPA restructuring that dissolved the Office of Research and Development and deepened workforce tensions, including a June dissent letter and subsequent firings reported by news outlets.