XPost: alt.government.employees, talk.environment, talk.politics.guns
XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.republicans

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5383820-epa-staffers-trump- dissent-letter-zeldin/

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is placing staffers who signed a letter of dissent against the Trump administration�s actions and policies
on leave.

The EPA says it has placed 144 staffers on administrative leave as it investigates the letter. It�s not entirely clear whether they will face
further punishment after the probe.

�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,� EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said in a written statement.

In a letter made public on Monday, current and former EPA staffers said
that the administration�s policies �undermine the EPA mission of
protecting human health and the environment.�

They expressed concerns about five issues in particular, saying that the administration is undermining public trust, ignoring scientific consensus
to benefit polluters, reversing EPA�s progress in America�s most
vulnerable communities, dismantling the Office of Research and Development
and promoting a culture of fear.

�Your decisions and actions will reverberate for generations to come. EPA
under your leadership will not protect communities from hazardous
chemicals and unsafe drinking water, but instead will increase risks to
public health and safety,� the staffers wrote to Administrator Lee Zeldin.

In response, the EPA said Monday that it would �continue to work with
states, tribes, and communities to advance the agency�s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.�

Nicole Cantello, president of the American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE) Local 704, which represents EPA employees in the Midwest,
told The Hill that putting staffers on administrative leave was � blatant retaliation by the Trump administration.�

�We don�t swear an oath to the Trump administration, we swear an oath to
the Constitution and so we don�t feel like we violated that oath or that
we did anything wrong by signing this letter,� she said, adding that some
of the staffers who were placed on leave are actually �crucial players in trying to implement Trump�s policies at EPA.�

Zeldin told reporters in January that staff who are �not committed� to President Trump�s directives should not be there.

�I don�t believe that anyone should be here at EPA who is not committed to
the agency mission and the lawful directives coming from the duly elected president of the United States,� he said at the time.

The EPA previously fired staff who worked on issues related to
environmental justice and tackling pollution in underserved communities, arguing that it did not align with the administration�s position on
diversity, equity and inclusion.


--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

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