EPA puts 139 employees on leave after they sign a ‘declaration of dissent’

Letter from workers, which EPA claims is unlawful', says agency is no longer living up to its mission

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a declaration of dissent" about its policies, accusing them of unlawfully undermining" the Trump administration's agenda.

In a letter made public on Monday, the employees wrote that the agency is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and the environment. The letter represented rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face blowback for speaking out against a weakening of funding and federal support for climate, environmental and health science.