Wichita Standard

In a recent hearing before the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees, Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) criticized VA Secretary Doug Collins for his decision to terminate 1,400 VA employees. This action follows a previous termination of over 1,000 employees earlier in the month. Many of those dismissed were veterans or military spouses.

Blumenthal stated, “We are here today at a pretty momentous and important time. And I'm just going to be very blunt—our VA is under assault. The veterans of America are under assault.” He highlighted that these terminations occurred without credible explanation and called for support to protect veterans' care and benefits.

Randy Reese, Executive Director of Disabled American Veterans (DAV), also spoke against the mass terminations during the hearing. He questioned whether it was preferable for disabled veterans and their spouses to be unemployed rather than working at the Department of Veterans Affairs: “...would [we] rather have disabled veterans and their spouses unemployed than working at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs? I mean—that’s a sad thing to say.”

Reese criticized various workforce initiatives by the Trump Administration as unprofessional acts that do not respect human dignity: “We view the series of actions – from the return to work, to hiring freeze, delayed resignation, probationary employees’ terminations—all as unprofessional acts. It’s not how you treat people.”

Following these discussions, DAV released a statement expressing concern over the lack of transparency regarding these workforce reductions: “The recent VA workforce cuts are deeply concerning...Veterans and their families deserve clear answers on how these reductions will impact their care and benefits.”

The Veterans of Foreign Wars also called on the Administration to halt indiscriminate mass terminations following Collins' latest decision affecting 1,400 more employees.

Blumenthal shared personal stories illustrating the impact of these terminations on individual lives. One story involved an employee from the Veterans Crisis Line who was terminated despite being a service-connected disabled veteran with excellent performance reviews.

The Senator emphasized that many affected individuals were not dismissed due to poor performance but rather because they were in probationary statuses when evaluated by algorithms.

As part of his closing remarks, Blumenthal urged collective action from lawmakers and veterans alike: “If you believe that the VA is a system worth saving—and I think everybody in this room does—we are going to need your help.”

He encouraged attendees to actively engage with legislators demanding adherence to commitments made towards those who have served America.