(Georgia Recorder) – A group of veterans sounded the alarm Tuesday over the Trump administration’s job cuts and canceled contracts at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, saying the massive agency that administers benefits and health care programs to millions of vets and their families would see disruptions from the proposed downsizing.
The administration is eyeing a reduction of as many as 83,000 in the agency’s workforce as part of President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk’s agenda to shrink the civil service and reduce government contractors.
The VA has already cut roughly 2,400 positions and began canceling 585 contracts this year, according to agency figures.
Future Zhou, a medically retired veteran, said during a virtual press briefing Tuesday she was among several workers abruptly fired last month from the hospital supply logistics team at VA Puget Sound in Washington state, and she worries about the “stress and devastation that these indiscriminate firings have caused.”
Zhou told reporters she was hired in July 2024 to a position managing medical supplies, including for daily surgeries, and removing recalled equipment and medication.
The veteran, who also receives care at the hospital, said her firing has “deeply eroded” her confidence in the VA.
“I was shocked and deeply disappointed when I received an email on Monday, February 24 at 1:56 p.m. notifying me of my immediate removal from my position. I was left with the task of informing my supervisor, my section chief and my (human resources department) of this decision, without the chance to undergo a formal assessment of my performance,” Zhou said.
Zhou said her former coworkers have told her they are a week behind on “critical supply requests for medication and equipment in our hospital.”
Sen. Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington state, said that as the daughter of a World War II Purple Heart recipient who later received VA health care for multiple sclerosis, the issue is “really personal to me.”
“And when I see Musk and Trump firing VA workers left and right, when I hear that they now plan to fire over 80,000 more VA workers, you can bet I will not be quiet about this,” said Murray, who convened the press conference.
‘Government does not exist to employ people’
VA Secretary Doug Collins told Fox News Monday that cutting roughly 80,000 jobs is “a goal” for the administration.
In a video posted on social media March 5, Collins said the administration’s target to cut 15% of the VA’s workforce will be done without decreasing benefits and health care to veterans and other beneficiaries.
“We regret anyone who loses their job, and it’s extraordinarily difficult for me especially as a VA leader and your secretary to make these types of decisions, but the federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people,” said Collins, a former Georgia congressman who still serves in the Air Force Reserve. Collins previously served as an Air Force chaplain and was a Baptist minister in Georgia for 11 years.
Collins said the agency is aiming to return to the 2019 employment level of 398,000, down from the current approximately 470,000 positions.
Hiring increased under former President Joe Biden following the enactment of the PACT Act in 2022, which expanded VA health care for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic environments while serving.
According to the Biden administration, the VA processed more than 2 million claims, accounting for $137 billion in benefits, three-quarters of the way through fiscal year 2024, setting “an all-time record.” Nearly 33% of the claims could be traced back to the PACT Act’s expansion, according to Biden administration figures.
Benefits disruptions feared
Murray is not the only Democrat to express outrage over the planned cuts. The vice chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations joined colleagues in a March 6 letter demanding more information on decision-making at the VA.
The letter, led by top Democrats on the Senate and House committees on Veterans’ Affairs, said “reductions in claims processing turnaround can be directly attributed to the growth in the workforce. Returning to pre-PACT levels explicitly goes against Congressional intent.”
“It defies logic and reason that the agency could cut an additional 83,000 employees, beyond the 2,400 or more you have already terminated, without health care and benefits being interrupted,” according to the letter led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Mark Takano of California.
In a statement Tuesday, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told States Newsroom, “President Trump refuses to accept the VA bureaucracy and bloat that has hindered Veterans’ ability to receive timely and quality care. By making the VA workforce more efficient, President Trump and Secretary Collins will ensure greater efficiency and transparency for our nation’s heroes while preserving the benefits they earned.”
