‘ZERO Tolerance’: EPA Brings Down Hammer On Bureaucrats Publicly ‘Sabotaging’ Trump Agenda

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is placing 144 employees on administrative leave after they signed an open petition protesting the agency’s actions under the Trump administration.

The federal employees published the “declaration of dissent” as a public letter on Monday, criticizing the EPA’s recent deregulatory moves and its transition away from prioritizing “environmental justice” initiatives that were championed under the Biden administration, among other policies. The EPA employees will remain on leave as the agency investigates the matter further, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin followed through on comments he made in January indicating that he has little patience for bureaucrats hoping to undermine the agency from within on his watch.

“We have a ZERO tolerance policy for agency bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the agenda of this administration as voted for by the great people of this country last November. The will of the American public will not be ignored at our agency,” Zeldin said. “Unfortunately, a small number of employees signed onto a public letter, written as agency employees, using their official work title, that was riddled with misinformation regarding agency business.”

There are over 15,000 employees at the EPA, meaning that the staffers who signed the letter represent a small fraction of the agency’s overall workforce. The 144 employees placed on leave Thursday signed the letter with their official EPA title, according to the agency. Other signatories were anonymous, used fake names, or were retired individuals, former Democratic appointees or federal employees, according to the EPA.