The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticising the agency's leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump. "Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualised basis,' an EPA spokeswoman said Friday in a statement. The so-called declaration of dissent, signed by more than 170 employees in late June, "contains inaccurate information designed to mislead the public about agency business,' spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said. "Thankfully, this represents a small fraction of the thousands of hard-working, dedicated EPA employees who are not trying to mislead and scare the American public."

"The EPA has a zero-tolerance policy for career officials using their agency position and title to unlawfully undermine, sabotage and undercut the will of the American public that was clearly expressed at the ballot box last November," she added.

Vaseliou declined to say how many employees were disciplined, but the head of one of the agency's largest unions said at least six probationary employees who signed the letter were fired, along with at least two career employees. The union, part of the American Federation of Government Employees, condemned the firings, which come after 139 workers were put on administrative leave shortly after signing the dissent declaration. The EPA at the time accused employees of "unlawfully undermining" the Trump administration's agenda.