President Donald Trump's new administration is expected to place employees on the EPA executive holiday in the coming days and weeks. [emphasis, links added]
Staff working on the EPA Environmental Justice and Civil Rights team are likely targeting a round of paid leave notices similar to USDA and other federal government agencies.
According to sources who spoke with CNN under anonymous conditions, the EPA Office of Environmental Justice and the Office of External Civil Rights held a comprehensive meeting.
At the meeting, employees were told that EPA leaders would carry out Trump's executive order to remove Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in federally funded organizations.
How many EPA employees will be on administrative holidays?
While it is unclear how many staff members will be affected, the union chairperson representing EPA employees believes that the number may be as high as 100.
“If more than 100 EPA employees will take administrative leave tomorrow, It will be unprecedented in scope and scale,” said Nicole Cantello of AFGE Local 704.
“In my 34 years of working at this institution, we have not experienced anything like that.”
Under President Trump's leadership, @epa Will respect the rule of law, improve the federal system of cooperation, and never waste your hard-earned taxes. Let's get started! pic.twitter.com/2BSVEAXNYB
-Lee Zeldin (@epalezeldin) January 31, 2025
According to statement provided by EPA No employees have been sent to administrative leave. However, they did not answer other questions CNN gave them.
In a statement released on X last week [above]Lee Zeldin, the new executive at EPA, said under his leadership, the agency will “respect the rule of law, improve cooperative federalism, and become a good steward of our taxes.”
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