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Timeline › 2025 › July › 3

July 3, 2025

2 entries on this date.

EPA placed 144 employees on administrative leave for signing a dissent letter criticizing Zeldin's policies

On July 3, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed approximately 144 employees on administrative leave, pending an "administrative investigation," after they signed a June 30, 2025 "Declaration of Dissent" accusing Administrator Lee Zeldin of dismantling the agency's research office, canceling environmental-justice programs, and ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters. EPA said the leave — initially set to run through July 17 — was warranted because the signatories had listed their official titles in the letter, and described a "zero-tolerance policy" for staff who "undermine" the administration's agenda.

North Carolina Gov. Stein signed SB 442, shielding foster/adoptive parents who refuse to affirm a transgender child's gender identity

On July 3, 2025, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed Senate Bill 442, the "Parents Protection Act," into law. The measure bars the state from bringing child-abuse or neglect findings against foster or adoptive parents solely for raising a transgender child according to the child's sex assigned at birth, including using birth-assigned pronouns and making medical decisions on that basis, and bars adoption/foster agencies from disqualifying prospective parents solely for declining to affirm a child's gender transition.