EPA places 139 on leave over letter bashing Trump policies

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin speaking in 2024. Photo by J. Conrad Williams Jr. / Newsday RM via Getty Images

AXIOS
The Environmental Protection Agency last week said it has placed 139 employees on leave after they signed a "declaration of dissent" accusing the agency of "unraveling" health and environmental protections for political reasons.

Why it matters: The letter and EPA pushback escalates internal and public disputes over the agency's deregulatory moves under President Trump.

Driving the news: "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," an EPA spokesperson said.

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Full text of the letter can be found here.

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