01.26.17

Cantwell, Senators Call on Trump to Ensure Open and Transparent Communications Between Federal Agencies and Public, Members of Congress

Trump transition team directive to silence federal employees may present risks for Hanford

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined 12 other Senators in a letter decrying President Donald Trump’s recent directive to all federal agencies to silence communications with the public and members of Congress. According to media reports, the Trump transition team has sent memos to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Departments of Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Interior imposing a gag order on career federal employees. These memos instructed employees to, among other things, immediately cease releasing any public-facing documents, ban the release of photos and press releases to the public, and terminate the use of social media.

“The American people expect an open, transparent and honest government, and your actions are not only contrary to that expectation, they promote a long lasting culture of fear among federal employees and prevent them from following their mission to openly serve the American public,” wrote the Senators in the letter. “Given your commitment to the rule of law and peaceful transition of power, we respectfully ask that you immediately reverse course and ensure that the dedicated federal civil servants of this country receive the respect they deserve and are immediately made aware of their clear protections under the law.”

Senator Cantwell is particularly concerned with how the gag order may affect transparency and worker safety at the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state. The EPA, along with the Department of Energy and the Washington State Department of Ecology, is part of the Tri-Party Agreement, which governs cleanup operations. EPA’s inability, per the new Executive Order, to communicate with the public and Hanford contractors could pose serious safety and environmental risks as well as limit scientific research done by the agency. Less transparency and communication could hurt or delay the important work that is occurring at the Hanford site.

Other signers include Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tom Carper (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY).

Full text of the letter can be found below.

January 25, 2017

The Honorable Donald Trump

President of the United States of America

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are gravely troubled by reports about your recent directive to all federal agencies to silence communications with the public and Members of Congress. The American people expect an open, transparent and honest government, and your actions are not only contrary to that expectation, they promote a long lasting culture of fear among federal employees and prevent them from following their mission to openly serve the American public.  Additionally, these actions undermine trust in our Federal government and do little to support your “drain the swamp” pledge to “make the government honest again”. 

According to reports, your transition team has directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services and Interior with memos that impose a gag order on career federal employees.  These memos instructed employees to, among other things, immediately cease releasing any public-facing documents, ban the release of photos and press releases to the public and terminate the use of social media. According to reports, the EPA was instructed to remove the website’s climate change page containing links to scientific research on global warming and the transition team targeted lists of EPA employees with pending speaking engagements for review.  In addition, in some instances the transition team specifically directed employees not to send any correspondence to public officials, including Members of Congress and state and local officials.

As Members of Congress we wanted to ensure that you are aware that it against the law to interfere with federal employees communicating with Congress.  It is also against the law to retaliate against career federal officials for following lawful policy directives.  These recent actions by your transition team, combined with your previous attempts as President-elect to solicit names of Energy Department employees who worked on climate change initiatives and State Department officials who worked on women’s and gender issues are deeply troubling.

The agencies targeted by your transition team’s latest directive are responsible for billions of dollars of taxpayer funded public research. This research helps find solutions to problems that affect Americans every day.  Targeting the scientists at these agencies and prohibiting them from sharing the results of this research with the broader public is irresponsible and serves only to undermine the integrity and public trust in the federal government. Furthermore, these actions, particularly at the EPA, fly in the face of the Agency’s current scientific integrity policy, which prohibits scientists, managers and other Agency leadership from suppressing, altering or otherwise impeding the timely release of scientific findings or conclusions. Previous Republican and Democratic administrations have protected the free flow of information and the sharing of agencies’ views with the public.

Given your commitment to the rule of law and peaceful transition of power, we respectfully ask that you immediately reverse course and ensure that the dedicated federal civil servants of this country receive the respect they deserve and are immediately made aware of their clear protections under the law.

Sincerely,

###