Latest news with #BrigitHirsch
E&E News
6 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Virginia state government alum takes policy role at EPA
A former Virginia state government appointee has joined EPA's Office of Air and Radiation as a senior policy adviser, according to his LinkedIn profile. Harris Schwab started in the position last month, the profile indicates. Before that, he spent almost three years as an assistant secretary at Virginia's Office of the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, an umbrella organization that encompasses the state's Department of Environmental Quality and four other agencies. The scope of his portfolio at EPA is unclear. Schwab did not reply to a message sent Thursday through LinkedIn. In response to emailed questions, spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said, 'We are excited to have Harry Schwab join EPA's Office and Air and Radiation. ' Advertisement 'His experience, including his time as Assistant Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources of Virginia, will be a boon to EPA as we work to advance our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback,' Hirsch continued.
Washington Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Roughly 140 EPA staffers who signed ‘dissent' letter are put on leave
The Trump administration has placed on leave roughly 140 staffers at the Environmental Protection Agency who signed a letter of dissent protesting the agency's current direction and policies, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. Nearly 300 EPA workers had signed the letter, sent Monday to Administrator Lee Zeldin, which said President Donald Trump's changes to the agency 'undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.' More than 170 of the signatories chose to be named — and, on Thursday, some began receiving notifications they had been placed on leave. 'This is a notice that I am placing you in a temporary, non-duty, paid status (administrative leave) through July 17, 2025, pending an administrative investigation,' read one message seen by The Post. Asked for comment Thursday, an EPA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters confirmed that 144 employees had received emails in connection with the letter and at least 139 had been placed on leave — and are now facing investigations — because they had signed using their official job titles. The letter, the EPA official said, misrepresented the agency and its work. 'The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration's agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,' EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch said in an email. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Two people familiar with the matter said some EPA employees were physically escorted out of their workplaces Thursday after getting a leave notice. The EPA did not answer a question asking how many staffers were escorted outside. The developments at the EPA this week mark the latest effort by the Trump administration to crack down on federal workers deemed disloyal. The Defense Department has fired suspected leakers, while the Department of Homeland Security has pursued polygraph testing of some employees to determine if they are giving out unauthorized information. The measures have fostered an environment in which many employees — career federal workers and political appointees alike — are scared to put anything in writing, The Post reported. Colette Delawalla, the executive director of Stand up for Science, a nonprofit research advocacy group that published the employees' letter, noted in a text message that Zeldin has not formally responded. 'Though we are still gathering information on this situation, we condemn these actions,' Delawalla wrote. 'These are dedicated civil servants whose career goal is to keep Americans safe.' In their letter Monday, the EPA workers had taken issue with the agency's direction under the second Trump administration on five fronts, including promoting misinformation and partisan rhetoric, 'ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters' and dismantling the agency's research and development arm. The letter writers also noted than roughly 100 signatories were signing anonymously, for fear of retaliation, and generally lamented a 'culture of fear' growing at the agency. 'We are civil servants who are dedicated to responsibly managing public resources to drive innovative, high-impact research to create and implement the country's environmental regulations and solve environmental challenges,' the letter writers wrote. 'We want to work together, not to power the 'Great American Comeback,' but to launch America into a safer, healthier, and thriving future.' The notice sent Thursday placing staffers on leave specified they must provide a personal email address and phone number so they could be contacted during the investigation into their conduct. During the paid leave, the notice continued, staffers are prohibited from using government equipment, sending email from government accounts or contacting current EPA employees for information or access to buildings. One of the employees placed on leave, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of further reprisal, wrote in a text that signing the letter was worth the punishment. 'I took the risk knowing what was up,' the employee wrote. 'I'll say it before and now it rings even more true … if this is the EPA they want me to work for then I don't want to work for the EPA.' Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which has previously represented EPA and other federal employees, said that federal employees have First Amendment rights, which should protect speech that doesn't harm the agencies they work for. 'The letter of dissent did really nothing to undermine or sabotage the agenda of the administration,' Whitehouse said. 'We believe strongly that the EPA should protect the First Amendment rights of their employees.'
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
E.P.A. Puts 144 Employees on Leave for Signing Letter Criticizing Trump
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday placed 144 employees on administrative leave and launched an investigation into their decision to sign a letter accusing the Trump administration of politicizing the agency. Current and former E.P.A. employees, lawyers and advocates expressed alarm at the development, saying the agency appeared to be ignoring the employees' First Amendment rights. The E.P.A. said its actions were warranted because the employees had signed the letter using their official titles and because the letter had denigrated the agency's leadership. 'The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration's agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,' the E.P.A. press secretary, Brigit Hirsch, wrote in an email. The 144 employees received emails on Thursday saying they had been placed on leave for the next two weeks 'pending an administrative investigation,' according to a copy of the email reviewed by The New York Times. 'You are required to provide a current email address and phone number so that we can contact you as part of our investigation,' the email said, adding that the staff members would continue to collect paychecks while on leave. In the letter that prompted today's action, which was sent on Monday to E.P.A. Administrator Lee Zeldin, the employees voiced concern that the agency had made decisions based on a political agenda, not on science and the law. Recent E.P.A. news releases and newsletters have repeated some of President Trump's rhetoric on the environment, the letter said, citing agency statements describing coal as 'beautiful' and 'clean.' Coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and is a significant source of greenhouse gases. The letter was organized by Stand Up for Science, a group that planned a March rally in Washington to protest the Trump administration's steep cuts to federally funded scientific research. Of the 278 E.P.A. employee who signed the letter, 173 signed their names, while 105 signed anonymously for fear of retaliation. Colette Delawalla, the founder and executive director of Stand Up for Science and a graduate student in psychology at Emory University, was not immediately available for comment. Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that defends the rights of civil servants, said the First Amendment generally protects the speech of federal workers. 'We believe strongly that these federal employees have First Amendment rights and the government should not retaliate against these employees for expressing their viewpoints,' Mr. Whitehouse said.
