FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2025
CONTACT:
Aaron Bharucha, Public Relations Associate
(509) 429-1699 and epn-press@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
Zeldin’s Retaliation Against EPA Employees Is a Cruel Tantrum with Dangerous Implications for Free Speech
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Network, a non-partisan alliance of former EPA staff who served Republican and Democratic presidents, strongly condemns EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s punitive retaliation against EPA employees who authored and signed the “Declaration of Dissent,” a clear, principled and nonpartisan appeal to uphold the agency’s core mission: protecting public health and the environment. EPA is conducting an investigation into the letter and has placed more than 100 employees on administrative leave.
These professionals acted in good faith to raise substantive concerns about the direction of the agency under Administrator Lee Zeldin. Their letter reflects decades of experience, institutional knowledge and a deep commitment to the communities that EPA is charged to serve. The “Declaration of Dissent” outlines five urgent areas of concern: protecting scientific integrity, advancing environmental justice, defending research capacity, restoring public trust, and preserving the rights and well-being of the EPA workforce. These are not abstract ideals; they are foundational to EPA’s statutory role and the health and safety of the nation. At a time when the challenges of pollution, climate change, and environmental inequality are mounting, silencing these voices only weakens our shared ability to respond.
“Zeldin’s retaliation against EPA public servants is a tantrum that could have dangerous implications for free speech,” said Michelle Roos, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Network. “This is an extreme and cruel response. Civil servants across the government are now watching EPA carefully to see what happens when employees tell a cabinet member the truth in this administration. EPA’s mission cannot be fulfilled without the expertise, integrity and courage of its career professionals.”
Mark Hague, former EPA Region 7 Administrator with 30 years of federal service, added, “This extreme action by Administrator Zeldin is yet another effort to intimidate the dedicated professional civil servants at EPA. The issues they raise in their Declaration of Dissent should be of concern to everyone. Efforts by this administration to shutter science, defund EPA’s budget and its support to States, Tribes and local governments, and rollback decades of protections undermines our health and well being.”
The Environmental Protection Network calls on partner organizations, community leaders and the public to affirm their support for the values expressed in the declaration and the staff who authored it. Standing with these employees is a matter of solidarity and a defense of the right to clean air, safe water, and an EPA that works for all people. Now more than ever, the country needs their expertise and their continued leadership.
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ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK
Founded in 2017, the Environmental Protection Network harnesses the expertise of more than 650 former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from Democratic and Republican administrations to provide the unique perspective of former scientists and regulators with decades of historical and subject matter knowledge.