Federal Government Policy and Business

Alleged Retaliation Against Senior Executives Prompts Bipartisan Concern

Government Executive: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern about the Interior Department’s alleged retaliation against an employee who spoke out on the dangers of climate change, warning the Trump administration against reassignments as a means to silence civil servants.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she plans to ask for an investigation into the claims career Senior Executive Service employee Joel Clement put forward in a Washington Post op-ed last week. Clement said he was involuntarily reassigned to an accounting position after serving as Interior’s director of the Office of Policy Analysis after sounding the alarm on the risks climate change posed to Alaska Native populations. The supervisor filed a complaint and disclosure with the Office of Special Counsel.

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