EPA puts 139 employees on leave after they criticized Trump's agenda

EPA proposes rollback of contamination limits

Details connected Trump EPA connection to rotation backmost Biden-era contamination limits 03:51

The Environmental Protection Agency has placed 139 employees connected permission aft they signed a missive criticizing the Trump administration's biology policies. 

The letter, titled a "Declaration of Dissent," accuses the Trump medication of undermining the EPA's ngo of protecting the situation by promoting "harmful deregulation" and showing"disregard for technological expertise." 

The document, which was released publically connected Monday and which received 620 signatures, outlines respective areas of concern. Those see changes to the EPA's probe and improvement practices and cuts to its biology justness initiatives, which supply backing to enactment susceptible communities. 

"Since January 2025, national workers crossed the state person been denigrated and dismissed based connected mendacious claims of waste, fraud and abuse," the missive states. "Meanwhile, Americans person witnessed the unraveling of nationalist wellness and biology protections successful the pursuit of governmental advantage."

Under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the bureau has chopped backing for biology improvements successful number communities and has vowed to rotation backmost national regulations that little aerial contamination successful nationalist parks and tribal reservations.

An EPA spokesperson confirmed that 139 EPA staffers person been placed connected administrative permission aft signing the missive utilizing their authoritative titles and bureau positions. 

The spokesperson said successful a connection to CBS News that the bureau has a "zero-tolerance argumentation for vocation bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration's docket arsenic voted for by the large radical of this state past November."

Employees were notified that they had been placed successful a "temporary, non-duty, paid status" for the adjacent 2 weeks, pending an investigation, according to a transcript of the email obtained by the Associated Press. "It is important that you recognize that this is not a disciplinary action," the email said. 

According to Jeremy Berg, a erstwhile editor-in-chief of Science magazine, much than 170 EPA employees signed the letter, portion different 100 signed anonymously retired of fearfulness of retaliation.

The EPA responded to the employees' missive earlier this week by saying argumentation decisions "are a effect of a process wherever Administrator Zeldin is briefed connected the latest probe and science" by bureau staff. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Lee Zeldin
• Climate Change
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Trump Administration