FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Contact:
Kyla Bennett (508) 230-9933 [email protected]
Zeldin’s Claims of Absent EPA Employees Without Basis
Spreading “Misinformation” Is Hypocritical Reason to Punish Dissenters
Washington, DC — The office of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin is unable to produce any evidence supporting his allegations that many EPA employees are absent from the office or nonexistent, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which has been pursuing the issue through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). However, EPA is refusing to produce the requested records.
President Trump has cited Zeldin’s claims of widespread employee waste as justifying mass staff removals from the agency. At a February 26th Cabinet meeting, President Trump said in the presence of Mr. Zeldin:
“I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from Environmental, and we’re going to speed up the process, too, at the same time. He had a lot of people that weren’t doing their job – they were just obstructionists — and a lot of people that didn’t exist, I guess, Lee, too. You found a lot of empty spots that the people weren’t there. They didn’t exist.”
Shortly thereafter, PEER submitted a FOIA request seeking any evidence Mr. Zeldin had about absentee or ghost employees. Four months later, EPA replied that it would not even conduct a search because PEER’s request was too vague and failed “to reasonably describe the records sought.” Ironically, EPA had already granted a fee waiver for PEER’s request finding that the records sought would be in the “public interest” if released.
“If Lee Zeldin had any evidence that no-show EPA employees were collecting paychecks, he would have waved it around like a bloody flag,” stated PEER Science Policy Director Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formerly with EPA. “Instead, his claims about absent or fake EPA employees appear to be ideologically based misinformation.”
In early July, Zeldin placed approximately 140 EPA employees who signed an open “Declaration of Dissent” on paid administrative leave, informing them they are under investigation. At that time, Zeldin declared that, “a small number of employees signed onto a public letter, written as agency employees, using their official work title, that was riddled with misinformation regarding agency business,” adding that EPA had a “ZERO tolerance policy” for public statements which undermine the agency’s mission.
“Lee Zeldin is guilty of spreading misinformation and lies about EPA employees while attacking the signatories of the Declaration of Dissent,” added Bennett, noting that administrative leave for the employees has been extended yet again while Zeldin’s brain trust struggles with identifying any actionable misconduct on their part. “Mr. Zeldin’s zero tolerance for misinformation policy should start with him.”
PEER has filed a formal appeal over EPA’s refusal to produce documents supporting Zeldin’s claims of absentee or nonexistent employees. That appeal is a preliminary step before PEER can sue the agency for abdicating its responsibilities under FOIA.
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Look at EPA’s refusal to honor the request
Examine PEER’s appeal of the FOIA denial
See email announcing extended administrative leave
PEER protects public employees who protect our environment. We are a service organization for environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values. We work with current and former federal, state, local and tribal employees.
