Casten, 104 House Democrats Demand EPA Reinstate Suspended Employees
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) led 104 House Democrats in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding the EPA immediately reinstate employees who were unfairly placed on administrative leave for signing a letter urging the Trump Administration to prioritize public health and the environment.
In June 2025, over 270 EPA employees wrote a letter to Administrator Zeldin criticizing the Trump Administration’s efforts to politicize the EPA, undermine public trust in the agency, and ignore climate science. They urged the administration to set politics aside in the name of helping the American people. Shortly after, the EPA placed at least 139 employees on administrative leave as a direct response to their signing of the letter.
“We are deeply concerned that placing these employees on administrative leave was a violation of their First Amendment rights,” the lawmakers wrote. “The letter at issue called for an end to partisan activity in the agency’s work, respect for scientific consensus, renewed protection of at-risk communities, prevention of the dismantling of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and an end to intimidation in the EPA workplace. The abrupt sidelining of these employees appears to be without consideration of the Agency’s workload and the impact their removal from the workplace will have on public health and our environment.”
In addition to Rep. Casten, the letter was signed by Reps. Adams, Alma; Amo, Gabe; Balint, Becca; Barragán, Nanette; Bera, Ami; Bonamici, Suzanne; Brownley, Julia; Brown, Shontel; Budzinski, Nikki; Bynum, Janelle; Carbajal, Salud; Chu, Judy; Cisneros, Gilbert; Clarke, Yvette; Cleaver, Emanuel; Cohen, Steve; Conaway, Herbert; Craig, Angie; Crockett, Jasmine; Crow, Jason; Davis, Danny; DeGette, Diana; Deluzio, Christopher; DeSaulnier, Mark; Dexter, Maxine; Dingell, Debbie; Doggett, Lloyd; Elfreth, Sarah; Evans, Dwight; Fields, Cleo; Fletcher, Lizzie; Foster, Bill; Foushee, Valerie; Garamendi, John; García, Jesús; Garcia, Sylvia; Goldman, Daniel; Hoyle, Val; Huffman, Jared; Ivey, Glenn; Jackson, Jonathan; Jayapal, Pramila; Johnson, Henry; Kaptur, Marcy; Kelly, Robin; Khanna, Ro; Krishnamoorthi, Raja; Landsman, Greg; Lee, Summer; Levin, Mike; Lynch, Stephen; McBath, Lucy; McBride, Sarah; McClain Delaney, April; McClellan, Jennifer; McCollum, Betty; McGovern, James; McIver, LaMonica; Menendez, Robert; Meng, Grace; Mfume, Kweisi; Min, Dave; Moore, Gwen; Mullin, Kevin; Nadler, Jerrold; Neguse, Joe; Norcross, Donald; Norton, Eleanor; Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria; Olszewski, Johnny; Peters, Scott; Pettersen, Brittany; Pingree, Chellie; Pocan, Mark; Pressley, Ayanna; Quigley, Mike; Ramirez, Delia; Raskin, Jamie; Ross, Deborah; Sánchez, Linda; Scanlon, Mary Gay; Schakowsky, Janice; Schneider, Bradley; Simon, Lateefah; Smith, Adam; Sorensen, Eric; Soto, Darren; Stanton, Greg; Stevens, Haley; Swalwell, Eric; Sykes, Emilia; Takano, Mark; Thanedar, Shri; Thompson, Bennie; Titus, Dina; Tlaib, Rashida; Tokuda, Jill; Tonko, Paul; Torres, Ritchie; Veasey, Marc; Velázquez, Nydia; Williams, Nikema; Wilson, Frederica
A copy of the letter can be found here. Text of the letter can be found below.
Dear Administrator Zeldin,
We write to express our concern regarding recent reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has investigated and placed at least 139 EPA employees on administrative leave because they signed a letter to you that criticizes the administration for undermining the EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.
The letter was written to you and copied to the House committees responsible for EPA oversight, signed by EPA employees from every EPA regional office across the country, including headquarters, programmatic offices, and laboratories.
In addition to the at least 139 who signed the letter and have now been placed on leave, hundreds signed anonymously due to fear of retaliation by the administration. We are deeply concerned that placing these employees on administrative leave was a violation of their First Amendment rights.
The letter at issue called for an end to partisan activity in the agency’s work, respect for scientific consensus, renewed protection of at-risk communities, prevention of the dismantling of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and an end to intimidation in the EPA workplace.
The abrupt sidelining of these employees appears to be without consideration of the Agency’s workload and the impact their removal from the workplace will have on public health and our environment. EPA staff that has been put on administrative leave include inspectors, enforcement officers, attorneys, on-scene coordinators, permit reviewers, grant managers, and emergency response personnel. We are concerned about the negative impacts that removing these employees from their work has on the agency’s ability to protect public health and the environment nationwide. Investigating and sidelining these employees denies the American public the benefit of their vital work protecting human health.
We ask that the Administration cease this investigation and immediately reinstate the employees who signed this letter, without taking any adverse actions against them. We urge you to recognize the critical importance of these workers to the EPA’s mission and to allow them to return to their vital work on behalf of the American people.
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