Activist group Stand Up For Science, which launched the petition, wrote on its website, “We’re honored to be chosen by the brave heroes at the EPA to host their public Declaration of Dissent here.

EPA employees who signed the letter say they knew the Trump administration was unlikely to welcome constructive criticism, but news of their suspension still came as a shock.

The Environmental Protection Agency has placed roughly 140 employees on administrative leave days after they signed a public letter expressing concern about the treatment of federal employees and the Trump administration’s regulations on climate and public health.