This was a good move! The Trump administration has placed  139 Environmental Protection Agency employees on leave after they publicly criticized President Trump and his administration’s policies. The EPA employees were placed on leave, and some were escorted out of the EPA’s headquarters after they reportedly released and signed a letter showing their “dissent” of President Trump’s environmental policies. CBS News had more details to report on the letter: The Environmental Protection Agency has placed 139 employees on leave after they signed a letter criticizing the Trump administration’s environmental policies. The letter, titled a “Declaration of Dissent,” accuses the Trump administration of undermining the EPA’s mission of protecting the environment by promoting “harmful deregulation” and showing”disregard for scientific expertise.” The document, which was released publicly on Monday and which received 620 signatures, outlines several areas of concern. Those include changes to the EPA’s research and development practices and cuts to its environmental justice initiatives, which provide funding to support vulnerable communities. “Since January 2025, federal workers across the country have been denigrated and dismissed based on false claims of waste, fraud and abuse,” the letter states. “Meanwhile, Americans have witnessed the unraveling of public health and environmental protections in the pursuit of political advantage.” Under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the agency has cut funding for environmental improvements in minority communities and has vowed to roll back federal regulations that lower air pollution in national parks and tribal reservations. “The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November.” – EPA spox — Maura Barrett (@ByMauraBarrett) July 3, 2025 Fox News reported how many employees of the EPA have been fired since Trump took office: The employees in question issued their statement under the auspices of the group Stand Up for Science. Stand Up for Science confirmed to Fox News Digital via email that it has “heard this [of the situation] from signatories of the EPA Declaration of Dissent, that Stand Up for Science is hosting for these employees.” The nonprofit’s founder and executive director, Colette Delawalla, wrote in a statement that all she knows is what EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said to the press. “This was not just a public letter—it was emailed to him by employees at the EPA on Monday morning, and published after it was sent to him,” Delawalla wrote. “He has not formally responded to his employees, and they have been placed on administrative leave. Though we are still gathering information on this situation, we condemn these actions. These are dedicated civil servants whose career goal is to keep Americans safe.” Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (Rick Scuteri/AP Photo) The letter came after President Donald Trump’s administration in April fired or reassigned nearly 500 EPA employees. Zeldin confirmed 280 staffers in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, Office of Inclusive Excellence, and EPA regional offices, were fired. He added that 175 others were reassigned.