In response to the Trump administration celebrating the reduction of nearly 30,000 Veterans Affairs employees, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Our most fundamental promise to all the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country is that we will take care of them. Donald Trump is destroying that promise. Today, Trump has sent a message to veterans loud and clear that he doesn’t give a damn about them. Trump is sinking to a new low — proudly announcing that the VA is on track to cut nearly 30,000 jobs. Over and over, Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t respect our veterans.”

NEW: Donald Trump’s Department of Veterans Affairs is on pace to slash nearly 30,000 employees before the end of the fiscal year.

Department of Veterans Affairs: “The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced it’s on pace to reduce total VA staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of fiscal year 2025, eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force.”

REMINDER: Trump is threatening veterans’ health care and hard-earned benefits through mass firings and funding cuts, and will inflict even more damage with his billionaire-first budget.

Federal News Network: “VA employees who work on the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) say the hiring freeze has affected the hiring of support staff.” 

Washington Post: “Veterans Crisis Line operators say they feel battered by Trump, DOGE”

ProPublica: “Earlier this year, doctors at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Pennsylvania sounded an alarm. Sweeping cuts imposed by the Trump administration, they told higher-ups in an email, were causing ‘severe and immediate impacts,’ including to ‘life-saving cancer trials.’

“The email said more than 1,000 veterans would lose access to treatment for diseases ranging from metastatic head and neck cancers, to kidney disease, to traumatic brain injuries.”

Because of Trump’s chaotic funding cuts, veterans have struggled to access care through the VA. 

Washington Examiner: “VA layoffs spark concerns about veterans’ care: ‘This could be life or death’”

“The employee explained many of the calls they already receive from distressed veterans have to do with roadblocks regarding receiving their benefits.

“‘A lot of these calls — they are calling because of their claims not going through, their claim getting denied. They just got bumped down from 50% to 10% or being worried about their SNAP benefits being cut or reduced,’ the person explained.”

New York Times: “The cramped conditions are the result of President Trump’s decision to rescind remote work arrangements for federal employees, reversing a policy that at the V.A. long predated the pandemic. Since Mr. Trump’s order, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been scrambling to find adequate office space for tens of thousands of health care employees, even those who see most or all of their patients virtually, while maintaining the legal requirement of confidentiality. …

“A social worker who treats homeless veterans in California said she was placed with a dozen other staff members in a windowless mailroom that was so crowded with undelivered packages that she had to move boxes to reach her cubicle.

“The Trump administration has said it plans to eliminate 80,000 V.A. jobs, or roughly one-sixth of the total work force.”