Members of Congress Demand Clarity on Looming VA Job Cuts
The Trump Administration's plans to fire 80,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are not sitting well with members of Congress, including some key Republicans.
This comes after a leaked memo from VA chief of staff Christopher Syrek told VA officials to prepare to return to 2019 staffing levels with a goal to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.”
If this comes to pass, VA is on track to cut about 83,000 jobs to reach the target. The VA workforce was approximately 399,000 in 2019. It is now about 482,000 overall including 459,000 full-time employees.
The reason: the Biden Administration ramped up hiring as the PACT Act significantly increased the number of veterans newly eligible for care and benefits.
“It’s political malpractice not to consult Congress if that’s what you intend to do,” said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of President Trump’s closest allies, after leaving a lunch with Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk. “Maybe you’ve got a good reason to do it. I like (VA Secretary) Doug Collins — he’s a great guy. But we don’t need to be reading memos in the paper about a 20 percent cut at the VA.”
And Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS), who has been in close contact with Secretary Collins and the White House, says more information is needed and that efforts to downsize “must be done in a more responsible manner.”
According to the memo, the VA will complete an internal review in May, with the reorganization plan published in June. Layoffs would begin in August.
House Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano warned of devastating consequences should the planned cuts go through.
“Any significant reduction in personnel could create devastating backlogs, delay critical care and ultimately fail our veterans at a time when they need our support the most,” said Representative Takano (D-CA).
And these would not be the first job cuts at VA this year. The Trump Administration already fired about 2,400 probationary workers.
Comments From Trump Adviser Spark Outrage
Meanwhile, the anger continues as veterans who are probationary employees get dismissed across agencies.
To add insult to injury, Alina Habba, an adviser to President Trump and the president’s former personal attorney, said veterans fired may not be “fit to have a job at this moment.”
"That doesn’t mean that we forget our veterans by any means," said Habba. "We are going to care for them in the right way, but perhaps they’re not fit to have a job at this moment, or not willing to come to work. And we can’t, you know, I wouldn’t take money from you and pay somebody and say, 'Sorry, you know, they’re not going to come to work.' It’s just not acceptable.
Military veterans who were recently laid off from government positions swiftly condemned the remark.
"The narrative that remote/teleworkers do not work is not accurate and insulting," said Emily Erroa, an army veteran who was fired from the Department of Energy last month, after she transferred there from the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Especially when it comes to veterans that have [a] specific diagnosis due to fighting and serving the country."
