Save the Department of Veterans Affairs

President Trump and Elon Musk recently dismissed more than 1,000 probationary VA employees, a slap in the face to the veterans they serve - and VA Secretary Doug Collins somehow believes firing the employees hired to take care of veterans is “the right call to better support the veterans.” “Elon Musk, nine million veterans are watching you. Nine million veterans are watching you give them the middle finger, and we’re not gonna stand for it. We’re gonna fight Elon Musk’s plan to slash and trash the VA in the biggest power grab and heist of valuable information and money in our nation’s history," said Senator Richard Blumenthal. The Connecticut senator took issue with Trump’s recent announcement allowing only one employee to be hired for every four that departs, the continued VA hiring freeze, and the deferred resignation program that forces employees to choose between giving up their devotion to serving veterans or blind allegiance to Trump. Trump, the DOGE, and the VA leadership have launched an all-out attack on the federal workforce the like of which we’ve never seen before. It would be a disgrace to turn the VA into nothing more than a privatized insurance company to enrich greed billionaires, when VA integrated care is ultimately less expensive for taxpayers, and protects the lives of vets better than private care. We need to protect federal programs that help veterans from potential cuts that could lead to privatization of the VA and we need to prioritize the security of veterans’ personal data. VA officials have confirmed that they are working with DOGE, signaling that veterans’ information may be compromised. Additionally, Trump’s hiring freeze of federal employees does not include exemptions for critical positions at the Veterans Benefit Administration, HUD-VASH case workers, and other essential VA employees. This would impact delivery and quality of services and benefits to millions of veterans across the country. And this attack on the VA will also harm job training opportunities for veterans. Please work to protect our veterans and save the VA now!