America in panic as 80,000 Veterans Affairs employees are about to be laid off

(CLO) The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is planning to cut more than 80,000 employees, according to a leaked internal memo, causing a wave of protests and confusion from veterans organizations and the Democratic Party.

VA Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek sent the memo to senior department officials on Tuesday, outlining the goal of returning the agency to 2019 levels of just under 400,000 employees. That would mean about 82,000 job cuts.

Flag of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Photo: va.gov

The memo also directs ministry staff to coordinate with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to implement the cuts. The two main goals outlined are to “eliminate waste” and “increase work efficiency.”

The scale of the VA's layoffs is far greater than any other government agency and affects one of the most respected groups in America – veterans.

"We are sorry to see anyone lose their job. As a VA leader, I find this incredibly difficult. But the federal government does not exist to create jobs, it exists to serve the people," Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a video posted to social media X on Wednesday.

The VA currently provides a wide range of benefits and medical assistance to veterans. Opponents of the plan say the cuts would negatively impact the quality of services.

"Veterans and their families will suffer unnecessary losses," warned Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 311,000 VA employees.

Billionaire Elon Musk and his team have been tasked by President Donald Trump with cutting the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy. According to statistics, about 25,000 government employees have been laid off so far and another 75,000 have voluntarily left, out of a total of 2.3 million federal employees.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray strongly criticized the plan, calling it "a total and uncompromising attack on veterans" that would put their health care benefits "in grave danger."

Senator Jerry Moran, the Republican chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, also expressed dissatisfaction with the way the cuts were implemented and called on the VA to work with Congress to "implement necessary reforms."

“VA needs reform, but efforts to streamline the bureaucracy and improve efficiency must be done in a more responsible manner,” Moran said in a statement.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly asserted that the Trump administration will protect veterans' rights, but will not accept "bureaucracy and bloatedness" in the VA's administrative apparatus.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, also expressed surprise at the scale of the cuts. “The VA can certainly be reduced. But if you’re a veteran and you read about it in the news, you’re going to be shocked,” he said.

Naveed Shah, political director of Common Defense, a grassroots veterans group, criticized the mass layoffs.

Some observers say this could be the first step in a path to fully privatizing the VA, gradually shifting veterans' health services to private organizations instead of being run directly by the government.

Veterans groups are planning to lobby Congress to reconsider the cuts, in order to protect those who have served our country.

Cao Phong (according to NYT, CNBC, The Guardian)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nuoc-my-hoang-mang-khi-80000-nhan-vien-bo-cuu-chien-binh-sap-bi-sa-thai-post337276.html