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For Immediate Release
February, 06 2025, 12:16pm EDT
Contact:
Christopher Schuler, christopher.schuler@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Statement on Trump Administration Dismantling Environmental Offices Across Government
Today, the Trump Administration continued its assault on public health and safety, shuttering key environment offices across the federal government, including closing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights and “remaking” the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
EPA’s Environmental Justice office worked to ensure that everyone, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income is entitled to equal protection from environmental harms and risks.
ENRD’s lawyers represent the government in cases involving everything from pollution, public lands, and wildlife. In FY 2023 alone, ENRD attorneys worked on 4,500 matters and obtained over $440 million in civil and criminal fines, penalties and costs recovered. The division also secured federal injunctive relief valued at $2.3 billion, saving the United States more than $2.5 billion through litigation.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:
“Donald Trump is hellbent on dismantling and disregarding so much of what helps keep our families and our communities safe. Protecting our air and water and holding deadly polluters accountable helps American families. By shuttering these offices, Donald Trump has decided that we do not deserve clean air or water, and our right to a livable and safe planet comes second to further enriching his fossil fuel friends and donors. Trump has been on the job for less than a month, but every single day he is making our communities less safe. The American people deserve better than this.”
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world.
(415) 977-5500LATEST NEWS
Judge Temporarily Blocks Musk-Led 'Fork' Offer to Purge Federal Workers
"Proceed with caution," Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley urged federal workers. "Talk to your union reps. Know your rights."
Feb 06, 2025
A U.S. judge in Massachusetts on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's widely decried deferred resignation program intended to help the Republican administration dramatically reduce the federal workforce—a move that came just hours away from a midnight application deadline for workers.
Boston-based District Judge George O'Toole Jr., an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, "did not express an opinion on the legality of the program," according toThe Associated Press. "He scheduled a hearing for Monday at 2:00 pm EST and told the administration to extend the application deadline until after that."
The judge's intervention was prompted by labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), that filed suit on Tuesday, arguing the program is "an arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum," and on Wednesday asked O'Toole to pause implementation and extend the deadline.
Despite warnings from unions and congressional Democrats not to trust the Trump administration's deal, multiple journalists reported Thursday at least 50,000 federal workers—or about 2% of the government's 2.3 million workforce—had taken it.
"Deferred resignation is designed to tempt you, but there are major reasons for concern."
The program was unveiled last month in a "Fork in the Road" email that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the government's human resources agency, sent federal workers. It resembles—including the verbatim wording of the subject line—an email that billionaire Elon Musk, chair of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE), sent Twitter employees in 2022, when he took over the social media platform.
In the email, OPM told federal workers that "we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency," and gave them until Thursday to decide whether to leave their jobs, claiming that "if you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason)."
A subsequently published OPM webpage answering frequently asked questions claims that workers who take the deal are not expected to work during the deferred resignation period and encourages them to seek private sector employment in that time. It also states that the offer applies to all full-time federal employees except those in the military; U.S. Postal Service; positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety; and jobs specifically excluded by federal agencies.
Although the Internal Revenue Service does not appear on that list, Federal News Networkreported Wednesday that some IRS employees who accepted the resignation offer "are now being told they must stay on the job through May 15, because the agency has deemed their work 'essential' to this year's tax filing season." Axiosobtained the relevant email sent to IRS workers.
"Not only is this a clear case of bait-and-switch—they were originally told they would be paid to not work through September 30—but it proves that the terms of OPM's so-called offer are unreliable and cannot be trusted," said Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents IRS workers, in a statement to the media outlets.
"We do welcome the admission, however, that IRS employees are vital to the agency mission," she added. "By requiring IRS employees to stay on the job longer than promised, the administration is proving what NTEU has been saying all along: IRS employees are essential and without them, the jobs that the American people depend upon will not get done. In the case of the IRS, it's answering taxpayer questions during filing season, processing tax returns, and issuing refunds. But this holds true for frontline federal employees across government who safeguard the public health, promote economic growth, and secure the nation. If their jobs are arbitrarily eliminated, those services are in jeopardy."
NTEU and the AFGE have cautioned members against taking the offer. The latter union is circulating an FAQ sheet for federal workers, which notes that "it is unclear what recourse, if any, employees might have if the government fails to honor the terms of their deferred resignation."
Reutersspoke with multiple federal employees weighing what to do ahead of the deadline:
Employees at the General Services Administration, which manages federal properties, have been bracing for mass layoffs after officials said they plan to slash spending by half.
"It's just chaos, no one is able to do any real work now," said one employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Colleagues were deleting personal documents from their work computers, the person said.
Another worker at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who also asked not to be named, said the mood inside the agency was one of fear and confusion. Staff believe they will likely lose their jobs whether or not they accept the offer, the person said.
An unnamed but defiant Department of Agriculture employee told the news agency: "I am scared about losing my job, but I am not going to give in. They need to push me out."
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), whose congressional district is home to many members of the civilian workforce, wrote in an open letter to them on Thursday: "I am not a lawyer, financial planner, or career adviser, and cannot tell you what to do. But I can offer my empathy and perspective on the choice that faces you. As someone who grew up in a family of civil servants, pursued public service, and represents over 70,000 federal employees, I respect and value your service to the country."
"You can see what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing. The hiring freeze, Schedule F, the mass firings, the cancellation of work arrangements and collective bargaining agreements, and the emails and statements insulting you and your work—all are designed to demoralize you, fill your workplace with chaos and fear, and get you to quit," he continued. "Deferred resignation is designed to tempt you, but there are major reasons for concern."
"First, the administration says they can rescind this offer after it is accepted and stop paying you, which would leave you with little or no recourse. Next, the legality of these offers is dubious," Beyer stressed. "Finally, to accept this offer, you must trust that Elon Musk and Donald Trump will keep their word. They both have extensive track records of dishonesty."
"Only you know what is the best choice for you. If you are concerned about your job security and think taking this offer is the lesser evil, there is no shame in that," he concluded. "I will not stop fighting for you and for the federal employees who choose to serve the American people, and there are many others who will have your back. You are not alone, and America needs you more than ever."
Sharing resources for workers on social media Thursday, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) similarly said: "If you're a federal employee who received Trump's 'Fork in the Road' memo, proceed with caution. This is not a man who keeps his word to workers on anything. Talk to your union reps. Know your rights."
Former Twitter workers are also speaking out. After interviewing ex-employees and a lawyer who represents thousands of them who took legal action after Musk bought the platform, CNNreported Wednesday:
Within hours of acquiring Twitter, Musk had fired its top executives; within days, he'd laid off around 3,500 employees, around 50% of the company's total staff. Ultimately, he trimmed 80% of Twitter's workforce, demanded everyone return to the office, and often required employees to work far more than 40 hours a week.
Musk's DOGE, with its goal of cutting potentially trillions of dollars out of the federal budget, is making similar cuts throughout government: the United States Agency for International Development appears to be in the process of shutting down; two sources told CNN the Office of Personnel Management was directed to prepare to eventually cut as much as 70% of its workforce; and the General Services Administration was told to present proposals to cut 50% of business expenses, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The network noted that Yao Yue, former principal software engineer at Twitter, recently wrote on X: "As someone who went through an eerily similar episode of hostile takeover that also played out in public in real time, I want to tell all the fed workers, 'I'm so sorry this is happening to you, I know how this feels.' And here are some of my learnings."
"Take care of each other... Record things, safely," she advised. "Stay calm and carry on. Don't comply without question, don't fold over in advance... You will survive if you band together with your trusted coworkers, family, and friends. You are not alone. Tell us what you need. We will get through this together."
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Federal Judge Restricts Musk Cronies' Access to Treasury Payment System
"We're pleased that the court acted quickly to put in safeguards to protect people's personal information until the facts are sorted out," said an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group.
Feb 06, 2025
A federal judge on Thursday issued an interim order limiting access to a critical U.S. Treasury Department payment system that members of billionaire Elon Musk's team infiltrated last week with the blessing of President Donald Trump's handpicked Treasury chief, sparking widespread alarm and backlash.
The order came after the Alliance for Retired Americans and a pair of labor unions sued the Treasury Department on Monday for giving Musk lieutenants the keys to the vital payment system—access they reportedly attempted to use to cut off all U.S. Agency for International Development spending.
The lawsuit challenged Musk's team's access to the payment system on privacy grounds, and one observer described it as "one of the most important lawsuits in the history of the United States."
In her order on Thursday, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia restricted "access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service" to a select group, including Tom Krause and Marko Elez—both of whom have ties to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE) team—and regular Treasury Department employees.
An attorney for the U.S. Justice Department said during a court hearing earlier this week that Krause and Elez were made "special employees" of the Treasury Department.
Critically, the federal judge's order limits Krause and Elez to "read only" permissions, meaning they can view records and data but not make any changes.
Writer and researcher Nathan Tankus reported Thursday that Elez—a 25-year-old engineer who previously worked for two Musk-owned companies, SpaceX and the social media platform X—was at one point given both "read and write" privileges.
"None of this should be happening and it's only going to get worse the longer 'DOGE' is here and the more they learn about what they can do and get away with."
One unnamed source familiar with the situation told Tankus that Elez "shouldn't have access to this almost $5 trillion payment flow, even if it's 'read-only.'"
"He shouldn't even be at Fiscal Service," the source added. "None of this should be happening and it's only going to get worse the longer 'DOGE' is here and the more they learn about what they can do and get away with."
Kollar-Kotelly's order will remain in effect until the court rules on a preliminary injunction motion from the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the Service Employees International Union.
Nandan Joshi, an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group—which is representing the plaintiffs in the ongoing legal fight over access to the vital Treasury system—said in a statement Thursday that "we're pleased that the court acted quickly to put in safeguards to protect people's personal information until the facts are sorted out."
"Americans who rely on Social Security and similar programs should be able to trust their government to handle their sensitive information with the utmost care," said Joshi. "No one should ever face having their personal information used for improper purposes without their consent, which is why we've brought this case."
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US Lawmakers Rip Trump's Plan to Destroy Department of Education
"We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation's students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities."
Feb 06, 2025
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday led five members of Congress in a warning against the Trump administration's plan to "unilaterally dismantle" the Department of Education and demanded answers from the acting head of the agency about recent moves "to put federal workers on administrative leave, coerce employees into leaving their jobs, provide access to students' sensitive data, and illegally freeze vital funding."
"Over the course of two weeks, the Trump administration issued sweeping executive orders and sought to broadly and illegally freeze federal financial assistance," the lawmakers—Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)—wrote in a letter to acting Education Secretary Denise Carter.
"Federal employees have been targeted, in some cases for simply following the law. Elon Musk is attempting to shut down the work of entire agencies while gaining access to some of the federal government's most far-reaching and sensitive data systems. Media reports indicate a similar effort may be underway at the Department of Education," the lawmakers noted.
The letter continues:
The Department [of Education] has been a target of President [Donald] Trump and his unelected advisers since even prior to his inauguration. And recently, the department has put workers on administrative leave for attending trainings promoted by former Secretary Betsy DeVos, once touted among results achieved by the department, and coerced employees into leaving their jobs. Workers at the department—like those across the government—have been made to fear their jobs will be reclassified so that they lose employment protections. Some staff from the entity referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency have reportedly gained access to internal department data systems, including financial aid systems that include personally identifiable information on millions of students. These actions appear to be part of a broader plan to dismantle the federal government until it is unable to function and meet the needs of the American people.
"We will not stand by and allow this to happen to the nation's students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities," the lawmakers stressed. "Congress created the department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their ZIP code."
"We urge you to provide information on the steps the department is taking to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on, the ability of the department to effectively administer programs for their intended purposes without waste, fraud, and abuse, and the safeguards in place to protect student data privacy," the legislators added.
Specifically, the letter asks for a list of officials "who have been granted access to personally identifiable or sensitive information," an "explanation of all steps the department has taken to protect" such data, the names of "all individuals placed on administrative leave or terminated" since Trump took office and all department communications to such employees, and confirmation that the department "has not frozen, paused, impeded, blocked, canceled, or terminated any awards or obligations since January 20."
The lawmakers' letter came on the same day that nearly 100 Democratic members of the House of Representatives wrote to Carter requesting a meeting to discuss "reports that the Trump administration has plans to illegally dismantle or drastically reduce" the Department of Education via executive order.
Both letters came ahead of next week's scheduled Senate confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, a top fundraiser for Trump's campaign whom the president subsequently nominated for education secretary. McMahon—a billionaire who led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term—is expected to face tough questions from Democratic senators about what one campaigner called her "documented history of enabling sexual abuse of children and sweeping sexual violence under the rug" during her tenure as World Wrestling Entertainment CEO.
The very future of the Department of Education is uncertain, as Trump has repeatedly vowed to abolish the agency, which was established during the administration of President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
"I told Linda, 'Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,'" Trump quipped earlier this week.
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