Senators Call for Investigation Into Involuntary Job Reassignments for Federal Climate Scientists

By Ayana Byrd Jul 26, 2017

Eight U.S. senators called for an investigation yesterday (July 25) into Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke‘s decision to reassign approximately 50 senior executive service (SES) officials last month.

The Senate action was prompted by Joel Clement, a federal climate scientist who filed a whistleblower complaint on July 19 after he was reassigned. The senators, who are on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, are investigativing if the involuntary reassignments could constitute an abuse of authority, according to an article in The Washington Post.

As Colorlines previously reported, Clements believes he was involuntarily reassigned in retaliation for speaking out about the impact of climate change on Alaska Native communities. "The threat to these Alaska Native communities is not theoretical. This is not a policy debate. Retaliation against me for those disclosures is unlawful,” he wrote in an op-ed published in the Post on July 19.

“Any suggestion that the department is reassigning SES employees to force them to resign, silence their voices or to punish them for the conscientious performance of their public duties is extremely troubling and calls for the closest examination,” the senators wrote in a letter to Interior deputy inspector general Mary Kendal that was obtained by the Post.

In response, a spokesperson for the Interior wrote in an email to the publication, “Senior executives are the highest paid employees in the federal government and signed up for the SES knowing that they could be called upon to work in different positions at any time. Congress meant for the SES to be a mobile force that are capable of taking on different assignments to meet the needs of the agency.”

According to Inside Climate News, the senators have requested reports from Kendall, Secretary Zinke and the appropriate committees in Congress.