WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the agency, according to an internal memo obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The VA's chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level officials at the agency Tuesday that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.
Watch: Ousted Hampton VA worker to attend Trump Congressional address
The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House's Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration's goals.
In a regularly-scheduled call with reporters Wednesday, Virginia U.S. Sen. Mark Warner was asked about this.
He said while the VA does need some reform, cutting a large number of employees, many of whom are veterans, is wrong and disrespectful to veterans.
Watch: Sen. Warner responds to report VA is planning to lay off 80,000 employees
“I hope this might be, finally, an issue where my Republican colleagues who love to say they support the military will actually speak up rather than cowering behind Elon Musk’s actions," Sen. Warner said.
As WTKR News 3's Brendan Ponton has reported, VA workers have already been impacted as the Trump administration continues to make cuts to the federal government. The VA recently announced more than 1,400 employees were let go nationwide. This includes a dozen workers were let go at the Hampton VA Medical Center last week.
Watch: Hampton VA Medical Center confirms employees let go as Trump admin makes cuts
Government Executive first reported on the internal memo.
