Overview

• The dismissals followed a June 30 Declaration of Dissent in which hundreds of staff criticized deregulation, sidelining science and a culture of fear at the agency.
• The EPA declined to provide a tally, while reports vary with the Associated Press citing at least eight firings, Reuters relaying union claims of at least seven, and advocacy groups saying five were fired with four receiving removal notices.
• An EPA spokeswoman said supervisors acted after investigations, labeled the petition misleading, and reiterated a zero‑tolerance policy for using official positions to undermine the administration’s agenda.
• AFGE Council 238 called the actions retaliatory and said six probationary employees and at least two career staff were terminated after about 139 signers were placed on leave in early July.
• The personnel moves come as the agency proceeds with deep workforce cuts and the elimination of its research and development arm, with similar dissent-and-discipline episodes reported at FEMA and the National Institutes of Health.