The Environmental Protection Agency has suspended at least 139 of its staffers who signed a letter protesting the direction the agency has taken under President Donald Trump.
The “Declaration of Dissent” was sent to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday. It accused the Trump administration of “harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise.”
Some of the 170 staffers who put their names on the letter began to receive notices on Thursday that they had been placed on administrative leave, according to The Washington Post. Multiple people were even removed from the building, although it’s not clear how many.
An anonymous EPA official told the Post that 139 of the staffers had been suspended pending an investigation. The person alleged that the letter misrepresented the work of the EPA.
An EPA spokesperson defended the mass suspension in a statement to the Daily Beast.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,” the statement said.
One employee who was placed on leave told the Post that they knew what they were signing up for.
“I took the risk knowing what was up,” the person said. “I’ll say it before and now it rings even more true… If this is the EPA they want me to work for then I don’t want to work for the EPA.”
The letter was signed by approximately 300 EPA staff, 170 of whom risked the Trump administration’s wrath by signing their names.
The letter’s specific complaints included the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental health standards, the dismantling of the EPA’s research office, and its promotion of a “culture of fear” among staff.
It called on Zeldin, a former Republican congressman who was appointed by Trump, to “honor your oath and serve the American people.”
Zeldin’s nomination as EPA administrator was met with concern due to his close ties to Trump and his lack of extensive experience on environmental issues.
During his testimony before the Senate for the nomination, Zeldin made headlines for flunking an impromptu pop quiz on basic science questions about climate change.
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