The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) yesterday announced that it will eliminate 35,000 jobs. This, while President Donald Trump shamelessly blames the deaths of actor/director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer on their opposition to his policies. While the president’s cruel, savage, and inhumane response to the couple’s death is newsworthy, the news of more draconian staff cuts by his administration is treated as an afterthought by the nation’s media.

The VA has long been cash-strapped and understaffed, especially in its care for veterans who live in rural areas. The Biden administration was taking dramatic steps to add funding and staff positions to the beleaguered agency. The Trump administration has reduced the agency’s staff by 10 percent in less than a year. They had previously proposed a 15% cut.

Anatomy of the VA Reductions

The Trump administration’s decimation of the agency has been swift and heartless. A significant reorganization of the department earlier this year has already reduced agency staff by 30,000 employees. Most of these jobs were eliminated through buyout offers and attrition.

Now, Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas A. Collins has asked managers in the Veterans Health Administration (the agency’s health care arm) to identify thousands of job openings that can be canceled. An internal memo states that positions such as doctors, nurses, and support staff would be included in these FTE eliminations.

VA spokesman Pete Kasperowicz spoke about the cuts related to the unfilled positions.

“The department is eliminating about 26,400 of its open jobs, which he described as mostly COVID-era roles that are no longer necessary. The vast majority of these positions have been unfilled for more than a year, underscoring that they are no longer needed. This move will have no effect on VA operations or the way the department delivers care to Veterans, as we are simply eliminating open and unfilled positions that are no longer needed.”

As part of the reorganization, Collins also plans to shrink the network of 18 regional offices that administer the agency’s hospitals and medical centers. Administrators at these offices assist with setting policies and managing staff. Collins says the agency’s administrative offices are top-heavy and that these cuts will free up more resources for health care. This comes at a time when the department has had difficulty filling position vacancies, resulting in job applications to the agency falling by 57 percent in 2025.

Agency Advocate Speaks Out

The department’s staff grew by tens of thousands under the Biden administration as additional veterans enrolled in VA health care after the enactment of the PACT Act, which increased benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. At the time, Department Secretary Denis McDonough urged veterans to seek treatment at agency clinics rather than from private practitioners.

Thomas Dargon Jr., deputy general counsel of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents over 320,000 VA employees, said they had not been consulted about the cuts, even as they try to address their members’ concerns. “The VA has been chronically understaffed for years, and employees are obviously going to be facing the brunt of any further job cuts or reorganization that results in employees having to do more work with less.”

Staff Perspective

The agency hopes to reduce its health care workforce to as few as 372,000 employees. Meanwhile, VA staff try to cope with scant resources and bloated job duties. A VA employee in San Diego who received the email announcing the staff reductions said that in their mental health section alone, of the 78 open positions, half will not be filled.

Currently, veterans in the San Diego area are waiting between 60 and 90 days to access VA mental health services. Dejected by the cuts, the employee stated.

“Staff are already strained and exhausted after a difficult year and were counting on reinforcements. We are all doing the work of others to compensate, The idea that relief isn’t coming is really, really disappointing.”

Bottom Line

The VA has been understaffed and under-resourced for decades, especially in the areas of health and mental care for those who live in rural areas. The Biden administration was starting to address these inadequacies, but with the arrival of the Trump administration, veterans’ care will decline at an accelerated pace.

So while our Commander-in-Chief makes callous remarks about celebrity deaths, his administration turns a cold shoulder to our long-suffering veteran population.