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Lee Zeldin, President Donald Trump’s new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has sent threats to around 1,000 workers at the agency that they can be fired at any time, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Zeldin, a former right-wing Long Island congressman who ran an unsuccessful but surprisingly close race for governor of New York in 2022, was confirmed as EPA administrator a week ago.
The employees threatened with termination include officials working on climate change and air pollution, said the report.
“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,” the report said.
The memo warned employees that “As a probationary/trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you.”
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Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Zeldin said, “On his first day in office, he engaged directly with career staff across E.P.A.’s headquarters — spanning two city blocks in downtown D.C. — listening to their insights and perspectives. Ultimately, the goal is to create a more effective and efficient federal government that serves all Americans.”
Zeldin, who has a mixed record on environmental issues including multiple votes against the Clean Air Act, acknowledged climate change was real during his confirmation hearing, but declined to agree the EPA has a mandate to reduce greenhouse emissions.
All of this comes as tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads up a government-cutting task force for Trump, has seized control of critical government systems and has made moves to try to encourage mass resignations from the civil service.
