President Donald Trump’s new administration is expected to put employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on administrative leave over the coming days and weeks. [emphasis, links added]
Employees who work in the EPA’s environmental justice and civil rights teams are likely to be targeted with a round of paid leave notices similar to those faced by USAID and other federal government agencies.
According to sources close to the matter who spoke with CNN under the condition of anonymity, an all-staff meeting at the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights was called on Wednesday.
At the meeting, employees were told that the EPA’s leadership would be enforcing Trump’s executive order dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in federally funded organizations.
How many EPA staff will be put on administrative leave?
While it is unclear how many staff members will be impacted, the president of a union that represents EPA employees believes that the number may be as high as 100.
“If more than 100 EPA employees are placed on administrative leave tomorrow, it will be unprecedented in scope and scale,” said Nicole Cantello of AFGE local 704.
“We have not experienced anything like that in the 34 years I’ve been at this agency.”
Under President Trump, @EPA will respect the rule of law, advance cooperative federalism, and never waste your hard-earned tax dollars. Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/2bSVeaXNYB
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) January 31, 2025
According to a statement provided by the EPA, no employees have yet been put on administrative leave. They did not, however, respond to other questions put to them by CNN.
In a statement released on X last week [above], the EPA’s new administrator, Lee Zeldin, said that under his leadership, the agency will “respect the rule of law, advance cooperative federalism, and be good stewards of our tax dollars.”
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