Over 1,000 EPA Employees Upset Over Warning They Face Possible Dismissal
The new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is also upsetting Democratic Senators and climate justice warriors.
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While everyone was focused on the hearings of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, Lee Zeldin was quietly confirmed and sworn in as the 17th Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Zeldin wasted no time in implementing President Donald J. Trump’s vision of a smaller government that works for the people and not against them.
Shortly after Zeldin was sworn in, over 1,100 EPA employees were warned they could face immediate termination.
An email, reviewed by The New York Times, was sent to staff members who were hired within the past year and have probationary status. Many of those employees were encouraged to join the E.P.A. under the Biden administration to rebuild the agency, which had been depleted during President Trump’s first term. Others are experienced federal workers who had taken new assignments within the agency.
Many had been hired to work on programs that Congress created through two recent laws, doing things like helping communities replace lead pipes, remediating toxic sites and funding clean energy projects aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet.
“As a probationary/trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you,” the email states.
Molly Vaseliou, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said in a statement that “our goal is to be transparent.” She declined to answer questions about the email, though, including whether Lee Zeldin, the agency’s new administrator, intended to terminate employees and, if so, for what reason.
I would strongly urge those at the agency who wish to remain employed to review Trump’s policy statements and get a grounding in climate science rather than from climate alarmists.
Zeldin is also trying to stop the flood of monies from grants the agency was slated to provide, as he has proceeded with a funding freeze.
The Democratic Senators, supported by the beneficiaries of those grants, are upset.
Enjoy the sweet, sweet tears of the senators from my home state of California.
….U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and all Democratic members of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in demanding answers from newly confirmed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin about the agency’s freezing of congressionally appropriated funds, including those that have already been obligated.
“We write concerning troubling reports that the Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to claw back funds that have already been obligated to grant recipients. We believe that this is contrary to federal law,” wrote the Senators. “… Many of us have also been contacted by grantees in our states reporting that they no longer have access to the grant money that has been obligated to them.”
“Federal law and regulations require that obligated funds be provided to grantees absent proof of misuse of funds,” continued the Senators. “We further note that the Solar for All program furthers several goals, all of which are part of EPA’s core mission, which you support. It is designed to help reduce carbon pollution, air pollutants, and household energy costs by financing community and rooftop solar in low-income communities. It will further help drive American manufacturing, boosting the economy and creating jobs.”
To round up this post, I will end with some thoughts from the National Wildlife Federation about Zeldin’s approach to “climate justice.”
Environmental and climate justice advocates face an uphill battle for the immediate future and what happens after that is really up in the air. During Trump’s first term, the EPA rolled back numerous regulations, arguing they hindered economic progress, something the President maintained when he announced his EPA appointment.
As EPA Administrator, Zeldin will likely align with this approach, favoring market solutions and minimal regulatory intervention—with little emphasis on broader environmental and climate justice initiatives.
I am looking forward to many years of bringing more good news about the return of science, sanity, and reasonable risk assessment to our nation’s environmental and health policies.
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Zeldin is pursuing his mission by cleaning up a toxic work environment.
“According to the most recent EPA budget data, the average cost per EPA employee, including salary and benefits, is approximately $70,000 per year, based on a total budget of around $12 billion and a workforce of roughly 17,000 employees. ”
There will need be much more cleaning up.
IMO the big spenders in Congress are caught in a trap of their own making. There are two pieces at play here. On one hand are funds that Congress has appropriated for general purposes within the discretion of the Agency. That’s what they are shrieking about. These funds don’t have a specific authorization (requirement) to be spent. For example the agency gets funds to serve a broad goal of ‘combating climate change’. Without any directive for who the recipients are or the specific purpose those funds can remain unspent.
The other hand holds the actual requirements. They are.required to be spent b/c Congress voted on the record (even if buried deep in a bill) to both authorize the specific purpose AND appropriated specific funding for that specific purpose. IMO, even these funds can be delayed until the end of the Fiscal Year unless there’s a Congressional directive to disburse them on a set schedule monthly/quarterly or whatever or there’s a binding service contract with the recipient that does the same.
Congress doesn’t want to have to hold votes on authorizing unpopular spending such as $50 million for condoms in Gaza. They just want to do a big appropriation for the funding with the understanding that the bureaucracy will spend it on condoms for Gaza. This is how much of the wokiesta funding has been done and the wokiesta leftists are mightily PO because the rigged game is being made public.
The “Solar for All program”. My first good laugh of the day.
Not funny, this was going to welfare recipients, was their aid for utilities ended?
1. Schiff for brains et al have accused Zeldin of wanting to claw back money already granted. My recollection from the years I was a consulting economist is that every contract signed with the federal government came with the stipulation that the government could cancel the contract any time it wanted to. So are EPA contracts and grants different?
2. Contrary to Schiff for brains et al, CO² is not a pollutant. It is a necessary component for plant life.
3. Again, contrary to Schiff for brains et al, solar and wind derived energy is not cheaper than fossil fuels derived energy. Every place it has been implemented has seen substantially higher energy prices compared to places that have not implemented solar and wind. I would point out in this regard Germany, the UK and California.
No one wants to be fired so their fear is understandable but the EPA like other agencies, has assumed too much power. Congress should be the only body that has law-making power, not the EPA with their own view of the law.
What % of EPA employees slackers? Likely plenty.
No agency, bureau, administration, commission, service, should have law-making power. That should be reserved for Congress and Congress alone. And should not be delegated to the un-elected bureaucrats of the Administrative Branch of government.
Though I’m sure Milhouse will make an appearance and tell us all why that can’t happen.
They have power to make regulations to enact Congressional legislation.
What that should is they can design the forms and they can produce the rules on how to test and such.
But, if Congress wants the EPA to regulate CO2 to X parts/million, then they can write the law such. And if they feel it’s not tight enough, then they can amend the law. But they should NOT be able to say “Oh, sure, EPA, you can set whatever limits you feel are justified; we just gave you that power.”
One of SCOTUS’s biggest mistakes was allowing the bureaucracy to treat CO2 as a pollutant. That wasn’t just Chevron deference, it was abdication.
Every administration since Washington has had regulatory powers delegated by Congress. It is impractical for Congress to enact all the detailed regulations that are necessary to carry out the laws that it enacts. It is the proper role of the executive departments to make and alter those regulations as needed, subject to intelligible principles laid out by Congress.
What should happen is that the Supreme Court should be asked to overturn Chadha, and the Congressional Review Act should be restored to its original form. All it should take to overturn an agency regulation is a simple majority in one chamber. Since the agencies’ regulatory power is delegated by Congress, and they make their regulations as Congress’s agent and with its consent, either house should be able to say “you messed up; we don’t consent to this regulation”.
I can give only one Thumbs Up on this site, but I would give you 100.
I have posted similar opinions several times. The various agencies and administrations should not have any law-making or regulations-making power. They should serve merely as advisors to the executive and legislative branches.
Ever since law school, I’ve considered “administrative law” to be an oxymoron. It boils down to allowing the bureaucracy to give notice and then do whatever the hell it wants,
The problem is that Congress has basically relegated their lawmaking power to the agencies and departments. They assign budgets with little guidance how the money is to be spent and the agencies basically get to figure that out for themselves in addition to creating a spiderweb of red tape.
“I would strongly urge those at the agency who wish to remain employed to review Trump’s policy statements and get a grounding in climate science rather than from climate alarmists.”
Indeed. Require people at EPA to read “Unsettled” by Steve Koonin. Hold discussion groups to critique and comment. This book covers the whole subject of climate science. As Koonin wrote for general audience so he avoids equations. If someone at EPA can’t understand the book, that person needs to go.
In my distant past I had some direct contact with EPA, and found the technical level dismal. Especially in statistics. I’m for shutting down the whole thing and forming a new department which recruits serious scientists.
Unfortunately, even “serious scientists quickly become whores when the person who signs their paychecks has an agenda.
I’m not sure anyone expected the shock and awe of what Trump is doing in the first 2 weeks
Can you imagine the angst, hatred and despair occurring today inside the respective HQ conference rooms at the Sierra Club and Greenpeace USA?
Where was the EPA when the toxic train wreck occurred in Ohio? You couldn’t get a fed out to take a look at it, or press the railroad to do anything. I”m sure some of the employees do worthwhile work, but look at what a mess California is because of the environmental issues–you don’t want that on a national level
EPA is an example of “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”…
Only 1,000!
The EPA needs only enough staff to monitor under the rules established by congress.
I think it’s a damned shame that government employees must be faced with the sort of fears that those in the private sector routinely deal with.
Imagine! Losing your job!
Its unheard of, and completely contrary to our DC philosophy of once your snout is in the trough, it stays there for life.
If all this winning keeps up, at some point I can change my handle to FinallyDrainingTheSwampMuchMoreToGo
Overall, how many government employees lost their jobs and had a reduction in their income during the Covid lockdown? Exactly who were the necessary workers during the lockdown? All US workers were necessary and not the privileged few in government.
The Democratic Senators, supported by the beneficiaries of those grants, are upset.
A lot of those Democratic Senators are probably actual beneficiaries of those grants.
So this should help CA rebuild, I hope. As has been noted: all of those gov employees survived the COVID lockdowns because they didn’t lose their jobs, but now…oh well. Learn to code, learn to wait tables, pick cotton, IDK.
Pick blueberries.
Bloomberg reports that San Francisco-based Salesforce has announced it will be eliminating more than 1,000 roles as part of a restructuring effort coinciding with the start of its new fiscal year.
.. see 1,000 layoffs is en vogue
“As a probationary/trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you,”
I wish Trump administrations could better internalize the difference between rights and powers.
His last administration was marred by a website explaining how “the Second Amendment gives citizens the right to keep and bear arms.”
Maybe such distinctions are too much for a former Democrat from New York to understand instinctively, but he should have someone on his staff that can explain it to him when something needs correction.
You can learn to code for God’s sake!
Or I hear farmers in California will be hiring soon
Plus migratory farm work gets them outdoors into the sunshine.
The “Solar for All program”!
Yes indeed. Just think how much the overall mental and physical health of the currently cubicle.bound govt bureaucrats will improve with fresh air, sunshine and good old fashioned physical labor. IDK if they understand this point.
When government employees refuse to testify before Congress invoking the 5th they should be fired.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Somebody call the Waaambulance for all the crybabies or they will wet their diapers.
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