A recent series of dissent letters signed by employees across the federal government documents the devastation this administration is inflicting on public health, safety, and the environment. It’s up to Congress and the public whether they choose to listen.
Decimation of the Federal Workforce
For the past eight months, the Trump administration has methodically hacked away at federal programs, civil service protections, staffing levels, and budgets. What’s left is a government landscape that bears little resemblance to how it looked and functioned before Trump took office. Federal workers are now grappling with how to perform their job functions in an era of rising lawlessness in government and continued uncertainty about what the future holds.
Federal Workers Wave a Red Flag
Below is a summary of a few letters that have been signed by hundreds of federal employees and sent to agency leadership and Congress.
- The Bethesda Declaration, the first in the series of dissent letters, outlines the public health and credibility concerns of hundreds of National Institute of Health employees stemming from the cancellation of critical research grants and contracts, wasteful termination of ongoing studies, undermining of peer review, and firing of essential staff.
- A letter from over 620 current and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees raises concerns related to EPA ignoring science to benefit polluters, dismantling essential research offices, failing to protect vulnerable communities, and promoting a culture of fear.
- Letters from hundreds of employees at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) detail the dangers of deep cuts to funding, grants, and research programs. They also emphasize the critical loss of institutional knowledge resulting from staffing reductions, and the setbacks in research that will impact future generations.
- A letter from over 180 current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees highlights the agency’s lack of a qualified administrator, elimination of lifesaving mitigation programs, reductions in staff and funding, and reduced capability to perform its mission due to interference from the Department of Homeland Security. Released during the week of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the declaration ominously foreshadows history repeating itself.
Agencies Respond to Dissent Letters
Responses to the letters, particularly at EPA and FEMA, emphasize the Trump administration’s intolerance for opposing views and the lengths it will go to silence dissent.
Leadership at both agencies painted the letters as ideological attacks rather than as legitimate disclosures of concern and moved swiftly to place a total of nearly 200 signatories on administrative leave following their release.
FEMA spokesperson Daniel Llargues said, “It is not surprising that some of the bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform.”
The irony is that the government’s response has been largely inefficient and inconsistent. At EPA, employees were left on paid administrative leave for nearly two months, unable to access their work or technology despite being eager to return to their jobs. In the last two weeks, EPA moved forward with disciplinary actions ranging from letters of reprimand, proposed unpaid suspensions, and terminations, with minimal explanation for the disparate outcomes.
Notices issued to employees echoed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s statement that the agency has a “zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration’s agenda.”
Overall, the response is a thermometer reading of the hostile climate government employees are facing. The message is clear: Speak out and you could be out of a job.
Who’s Listening?
While many of these letters are specifically addressed to Congress and agency leadership, they were written to benefit the public. By spelling out the essential roles that various agencies play in Americans’ lives and the consequences of those functions ceasing to exist, the letters invite a public response.
As we head into budget votes and the midterm elections, there is an opportunity to act against the administration’s crusade to “bend or break the bureaucracy to the presidential will” instead of the will of the people.
In the meantime, PEER and similar groups are continuing to support public employees in these times of crisis. We are representing some of those who have been silenced and working to take appropriate actions to maintain the rule of law and promote the healthy functioning of our government agencies.
Kaylee Rodriguez is PEER’s litigation assistant. Previously, she served as a legal assistant at the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
