WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees. Signed a critical letter Agent leaders under administrators Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump.
“Following a thorough internal investigation, the EPA supervisors made the decision on a separate basis,” an EPA spokesperson said Friday.
The so-called opposition declaration, signed by more than 170 employees in late June, “contains inaccurate information designed to mislead the public about agency operations,” said spokeswoman Molly Vaseriou.
The EPA has a zero-tolerance policy for career staff using agency positions and titles to “illegally undermine, obstruct and take away the will of the American people, which was clearly expressed in the ballot box last November,” she added.
Vaseliou refused to say how many employees the employee trained, but the agency’s largest union president said at least six probation employees who signed the letter, along with at least two career employees, had been fired. The shooting was first reported by the Washington Post.
The EPA Union, part of the United States Federation of Government Employees, condemned the shooting after 139 workers arrived. Take administrative leave Immediately after signing the opposition declaration. At the time, the EPA accused employees of “illegally undermining” the Trump administration’s agenda.
“The Trump administration and the EPA’s retaliatory actions against these workers have clearly been an attack on the workforce and free voice,” said Justin Chen, president of AFGE Council 238, representing thousands of EPA employees.
Including more than 150 trained workers (dismissals) — including scientists, engineers, lawyers, contractors, emergency response personnel and many other jobs,” Chen told The Associated Press. “They live and work in communities across the country, and they all believe in the mission of an agency to protect human health and the environment on behalf of the American people.”
In a letter published on June 30, employees wrote that the EPA is no longer meeting its mission to protect human health and the environment. The letter presents rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face retaliation to speak out against federal support for climate, environment and health sciences.
Employees of other agencies including National Institutes of Health The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a similar statement. Some FEMA employees I signed a public letter of dissent earlier this week. He was placed on administrative leave Tuesday, according to documents reviewed by the Associated Press.
More than 180 current and former FEMA employees signed a letter published Monday. The statement criticizes recent cuts to agency staff and programs, warning that FEMA’s ability to respond to major disasters is dangerously diminished.
The EPA said last month it was eliminating its research and development division and cutting down agency staff with thousands of employees. Officials hope that when Trump takes office in January, the total staffing will be reduced to about 12,500 employees, a reduction of more than 3,700 employees, or nearly 23%, from staffing levels.
