In an unprecedented move, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed 139 of its own employees on administrative leave Thursday after they signed a public “declaration of dissent” criticizing the Trump administration’s environmental policies. The employees, many of them career scientists, now face an administrative investigation in what experts and civil liberties advocates are calling one of the most aggressive purges of federal whistleblowers in modern history.
The employees’ letter, made public Monday, warned that the EPA is no longer fulfilling its core mission to protect human health and the environment. The signatories condemned budget cuts to climate programs, rollbacks of pollution controls, and efforts to suppress environmental justice initiatives affecting marginalized communities. The document garnered over 170 names, with an additional 100 signing anonymously, fearing retaliation.
Their fears were well-founded.
In a blistering response, the EPA declared a “zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the Trump administration’s agenda.” The agency said the workers were placed on “temporary, non-duty, paid status” while an administrative review is conducted. But many are calling this language a euphemism for political retribution.
“This is not how a democracy functions,” said Dr. Lisa Green, a former EPA official now with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “These are scientists. Their job is to tell the truth based on evidence, not cheerlead for political propaganda. This is a purge—pure and simple.”
The crackdown was authorized by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York and loyal Trump ally. Since assuming leadership earlier this year, Zeldin has overseen sweeping changes to the agency, including defunding environmental health programs in minority communities and gutting regulations that limit power plant emissions.
Under Zeldin’s leadership, the EPA has also sought to reverse a long-standing ban on asbestos and repeal climate regulations that experts say have saved tens of thousands of lives. An Associated Press examination found that rolling back these rules could eliminate $275 billion in annual public health benefits.
Zeldin defended the agency’s actions this week by asserting that “policy decisions are made after careful consultation with EPA’s career professionals,” while praising the “vast majority” of staff who “take pride in the work this agency does.” But his critics see these words as hollow.
“If you’re firing or sidelining the very people tasked with informing those decisions, then who exactly is doing the advising?” asked Jeremy Berg, a former editor-in-chief of Science magazine who also signed the letter in solidarity.
The timing of the suspensions is notable. The EPA action follows a similar declaration from nearly 100 employees at the National Institutes of Health last month. Those workers criticized Trump’s policies as damaging to global health and scientific integrity. Unlike their EPA counterparts, none of the NIH signers have been disciplined.
Jenna Norton, a lead organizer of the NIH declaration, said she was appalled by the EPA response. “Science is supposed to speak truth to power. If truth becomes punishable, then we’re no longer operating under democratic norms—we’re in dangerous new territory.”
Environmental advocates and members of Congress have already begun demanding answers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called the suspensions “a direct attack on the scientific process,” warning that the Trump administration is “using the levers of government to silence dissent and intimidate public servants.”
As the United States prepares to celebrate Independence Day, many inside the EPA are wondering what freedom remains for scientists under an administration that seems determined to bury inconvenient truths.
“The truth doesn’t care about your politics,” said one suspended scientist who asked to remain anonymous. “But politics now decides if you still have a job.”
