{"id":31830,"date":"2025-02-13T20:06:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T20:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/02\/13\/protestors-demand-va-oppose-trump-efforts-to-trim-federal-workforce\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:14:29","slug":"protestors-demand-va-oppose-trump-efforts-to-trim-federal-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2025\/02\/13\/protestors-demand-va-oppose-trump-efforts-to-trim-federal-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Protestors demand VA oppose Trump efforts to trim federal workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several dozen Veterans Affairs employees joined Democratic lawmakers outside the department\u2019s Washington, D.C., headquarters Thursday to protest against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/02\/06\/va-leaders-working-with-doge-but-say-veterans-personal-info-is-secure\/\" target=\"_blank\">potential staff and funding cuts for veterans programs<\/a>, accusing the White House of not doing enough to ensure their government reform efforts won\u2019t hurt veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event \u2014 complete with signs reading \u201cSave our VA, stop the bleeding\u201d and \u201cprotect our veterans\u201d \u2014 was held amid the closure of multiple federal offices in recent weeks as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s promises to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/01\/23\/more-than-300k-va-health-jobs-exempted-from-white-house-hiring-freeze\/\" target=\"_blank\">shrink the size of the federal government.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/02\/13\/lgbtq-pride-flags-banned-at-va-facilities-under-new-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Affairs officials<\/a> confirmed they are working with officials from the Department of Government Efficiency on ways to reform agency operations, but they insisted that veterans\u2019 medical and benefits data is not being shared with any outside offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2025\/02\/06\/va-leaders-working-with-doge-but-say-veterans-personal-info-is-secure\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25036806278522.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA leaders working with DOGE but say veterans\u2019 personal info is secure<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">An employee from the controversial new department will review VA contracts and IT system operations, VA officials confirmed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecVetAffairs\/status\/1889790616617304373\" target=\"_blank\">video message<\/a> posted on social media ahead of Thursday\u2019s rally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2025\/02\/12\/va-secretary-tapped-to-temporarily-lead-2-federal-oversight-offices\/\" target=\"_blank\">VA Secretary Doug Collins<\/a> dismissed the concerns coming from Trump\u2019s critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a rumor going around right now about veterans benefits being cut,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI\u2019m secretary, and let me tell you right now, that ain\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s also a rumor about DOGE taking personal information \u2026 We have those representatives here doing what they\u2019re supposed to be doing: looking at our contracts and making sure we have the best-run facility for efficiency, to make sure veterans get the care they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But speakers at Thursday\u2019s rally said those assurances aren\u2019t enough. They want firm promises from the White House and Collins not to cut any staffing at VA, and to create firewalls between department operations and billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading the White House efficiency efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cElon Musk: Nine million veterans are watching you give them the middle finger, and we\u2019re not going to stand for it,\u201d said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., ranking member on the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee. \u201cWe are going to fight plans to slash and trash the VA in the biggest power grab and heist of valuable information and money in our nation\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WATCH LIVE: House and Senate Democrats hold rally outside Department of Veterans Affairs<br> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HnxmVRsoOU\">https:\/\/t.co\/HnxmVRsoOU<\/a><\/p>&mdash; PBS News (@NewsHour) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewsHour\/status\/1890091457857380401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 13, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, Veterans Affairs officials issued guidance exempting more than 300,000 department health care posts from the White House\u2019s federal hiring freeze, labeling them as essential to public health and department operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But about 35% of department posts could still be impacted by the pause in hiring. Speakers at the rally said it could have a significant impact on veterans care and benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Trump, DOGE and VA leadership have launched an all-out attack on the federal workforce like none ever before,\u201d said Everett Kelly, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. \u201cNow they want to do nothing more than to sink their claws into the VA\u2019s $300-billion budget and funnel that money into corporate healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Demonstrations outside the VA headquarters \u2014 just a short walk from the White House \u2014 are rare but not unprecedented. Union leaders have led protests and marches at the location in the past to voice opposition to staff cuts and slowed hiring practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thursday\u2019s protest was unusual, given that Trump has been in office for less than one month and Collins for less than two weeks. But both sides have already touted significant changes in practices and philosophy in just a short period, adding to tensions surrounding future plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers and union officials vowed to oppose unfavorable policies in coming months and to highlight the dangers they pose to veterans and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Collins has vowed to continue reforms that cut down on bureaucracy and improve veterans\u2019 access to care, including an examination of the department\u2019s employee end strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m happy to partner with [the government efficiency office] to find things we need to get rid of so we can put money where it belongs: back with our veterans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several dozen union members and VA employees rallied outside the department headquarters amid fears of staff cuts and funding reductions for the agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":110918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":38,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[55,38,11,15,33,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3294],"class_list":["post-31830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-congress","category-fedlife","category-management","category-newsletters","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5D3X3ZVVXBC6PGCYYYHLXZJMZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2025\/02\/13\/protestors-demand-va-oppose-trump-efforts-to-trim-federal-workforce\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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