Nearly 300 current and former employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have issued a formal declaration of dissent, voicing serious concerns over how political interference and budgetary reductions under the Trump administration are eroding the agency’s core mission.
Addressed to Administrator Lee Zeldin, the declaration comes at a time of looming staff reductions and major structural changes at the agency. These changes include the elimination of the EPA’s research office and the cancellation of billions of dollars in grant funding.
According to the declaration, the reorganization plan aims to consolidate several critical EPA offices, aligning with President Donald Trump’s executive orders designed to reduce regulatory burdens and accelerate fossil fuel development.
“Today, we stand together in dissent against the current administration’s focus on harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise,” stated the letter, signed by 278 employees—174 of whom included their full names. The signatories emphasized they wrote the letter in their personal capacities.
The document echoes a similar statement issued earlier this month by National Institutes of Health staff, who also raised alarm over the politicization of scientific research and its implications for public health.
The EPA employees outlined five primary areas of concern:
- The use of partisan rhetoric and the spread of misinformation in EPA communications.
- The consistent neglect of the agency’s own scientific findings.
- The abandonment of environmental justice initiatives coupled with significant funding cuts.
- The dismantling of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development.
- A workplace culture increasingly defined by fear and intimidation.
“Your decisions and actions will reverberate for generations to come,” the letter warned. “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 declaration underscores growing unrest among environmental professionals as political agendas appear to override evidence-based policymaking, putting the agency’s long-standing mission to protect human health and the environment at risk.
