The Environmental Protection Agency just dropped a hammer on 139 employees, sidelining them for allegedly trying to derail President Donald Trump’s agenda, as the Daily Mail reports. These workers, caught signing a so-called “declaration of dissent,” thought they could play rebels without a cause. Now, they’re on paid leave, twiddling their thumbs while the EPA investigates their mutiny.
On Monday, over 170 EPA employees, plus 100 anonymous signers, backed a Stand Up 4 Science document claiming the agency abandoned its mission to protect health and the environment. The EPA, under Lee Zeldin’s no-nonsense leadership, is probing whether this stunt was an illegal sabotage attempt. This isn’t a game of academic debate—it’s a direct challenge to the administration’s mandate.
The declaration, penned by the activist group Stand Up 4 Science, even roped in non-EPA scientists and academics, according to Jeremy Berg, former Science magazine editor. How noble, hiding behind “science” to push a political agenda. Sounds like a page from the woke playbook, not a lab report.
The EPA didn’t waste time, emailing the 139 employees to inform them they were on “temporary, non-duty, paid status” for two weeks. The email insisted this isn’t disciplinary -- yet. The agency’s keeping its powder dry while it digs into this bureaucratic insurrection.
Stand Up 4 Science whined Thursday night that employees were left in the dark, as Zeldin didn’t personally respond to their letter. Poor dears, expecting a handwritten note from the boss while they try to kneecap his policies. Maybe they should’ve thought twice before signing a public hit piece.
Colette Delawalla, head of Stand Up 4 Science, called the employees “dedicated civil servants” whose only goal is keeping Americans safe. Dedicated to what -- undermining the voters’ choice? Their declaration reeks of self-righteous posturing, not public service.
Back in June, nearly 100 National Institutes of Health employees, plus 250 anonymous endorsers, pulled a similar stunt, slamming Trump policies as harmful to public health. Unlike the EPA’s firm response, NIH’s dissenters faced no administrative leave, per organizer Jenna Norton. Apparently, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya’s “dissent is the essence of science” mantra gave them a free pass.
Bhattacharya’s openness during confirmation hearings contrasts sharply with Zeldin’s hardline approach. Zeldin’s not here to coddle bureaucrats who think they’re above the administration’s goals. His EPA is about action, not endless debates with self-appointed martyrs.
Zeldin, a former congressman, is laser-focused on aligning the EPA with Trump’s vision, working alongside the Department of Government Efficiency to root out waste. In February, he exposed $20 billion in climate funds allegedly squandered by Biden’s team. That’s not pocket change -- it’s taxpayer money tossed into the progressive abyss.
Zeldin revealed Biden officials funneled millions to a shadowy “outside financial institution,” with one political appointee caught on video bragging about rushing billions out the door before Trump’s inauguration. “Tossing gold bars off the Titanic,” the appointee gloated, as Zeldin put it. That’s not governance; it’s a fire sale of public trust.
The new EPA leadership team uncovered Biden’s scheme to park billions with nonprofits, making it harder for Republicans to claw back the funds. Critics cry that Zeldin’s cutting environmental programs for minority communities and rolling back pollution rules. But an Associated Press analysis found his proposed rollbacks could save 30,000 lives and $275 billion annually -- hardly the work of a cartoon villain.
The EPA insists that Zeldin’s decisions are informed by career professionals briefing him on the latest research. “Policy decisions are a result of a process,” the agency stated, swatting away claims of reckless deregulation. Sounds like the adults are back in charge, not the woke crusaders.
Zeldin’s overhaul of the EPA’s research office, slashing climate change and environmental justice studies, has critics clutching their pearls. They accuse him of undoing an asbestos ban and loosening greenhouse gas rules for power plants. But when your predecessors treated taxpayer dollars like confetti, maybe a budget trim isn’t the apocalypse.
An EPA spokesperson told DailyMail.com the agency has “zero tolerance” for bureaucrats sabotaging the administration’s agenda, as voted for by Americans. Lee Zeldin himself called the declaration “riddled with misinformation” in a statement to the Daily Caller. That’s a polite way of saying these employees got caught peddling nonsense on company time.
The EPA’s response to the dissenters’ letter emphasized that the vast majority of its professionals take pride in their work, not in staging public tantrums. This saga proves one thing: Zeldin’s not playing games with those who think “science” is a shield for insubordination. The voters spoke, and the EPA’s finally listening.
