Washington, DC, May 6, 2026 — Federal workers who signed letters protesting Trump administration policies have faced far different treatment depending upon the agency, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Federal agencies either took no action or later reversed job actions against signatories, with the sole exception of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is pursuing termination or suspension of employees.
PEER is helping to lead a legal challenge brought by six EPA employees facing removal for signing the letter.
At the National Institutes of Health (NIH) most signers of the so-called Bethesda Declaration faced no adverse action for signing this dissent letter, with one employee being placed on paid “nondisciplinary leave” for approximately 6 months and then reinstated. Similarly, signatories of two other letters of dissent, at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation, faced no discipline.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) placed more than a dozen signatories on paid administrative leave for eight months but recently reinstated these FEMA employees. EPA is the only remaining agency that fired, suspended, or otherwise disciplined employees who signed a dissent letter.
“It makes no sense for federal workers to face vastly different consequences for doing essentially the same thing,” stated PEER Executive Director, Tim Whitehouse. “Under the First Amendment, federal employees are entitled to express their own views on their own time so long as it does not impede government efficiency,”
EPA’s top ethics official concluded in a series of emails that were released to E&E in response to a public information request that employees signing the dissent letter in their personal capacity and on their own time presented “no ethics concern” and was an exercise of constitutionally protected First Amendment rights. That opinion was overridden by Zeldin.
When recently questioned at a congressional hearing, Zeldin defended his decision to order “an investigation” that resulted in dozens of suspensions and several firings of EPA employees who signed the dissent letter.
“Administrator Zeldin’s extreme response to the free speech rights of EPA employees is designed to intimidate and silence the agency’s workforce,” added Whitehouse. “This comes at a time when employees are under immense pressure to promote the agendas of polluters and disregard laws passed by Congress to protect public health and the environment.”
The legal challenges to the termination of the EPA scientists are now before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the federal civil service court.
Look at legal challenge by EPA letter signers
See Zeldin’s defending investigation of EPA letter signers
See EPA officials concluding letter was protected free speech
Revisit Zeldin doing what he charged dissenters with doing
PEER protects public employees who protect our environment, natural resources, and public health. We support current and former environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers, and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values across federal, state, local, and tribal governments.www.peer.org