Trump's VA Cuts Called 'Unpatriotic' And 'Disrespectful' To Vets

LOADING ERROR LOADING The Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs have devastated the workers who lost their jobs and raised fears that the quality of veterans’ health care will decline in the years to come. “The unprofessional manner in which these decisions were executed was incredibly disrespectful.” - Future Zhou, laid-off VA worker The firings at the VA don’t just impact veterans’ services — they also hit their employment prospects, since veterans make up an outsize share of the VA workforce. “We were severely short-staffed.” President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office of the White House on March 7, 2025. via Associated Press The VA said it has more than 40,000 probationary employees, “the vast majority of whom” were spared from the recent layoffs because they serve in “mission critical” roles. “It defies all logic and reason to pretend it’s not going to hurt veterans,” Murray said of the Trump administration’s position. She called the cutbacks “disrespectful, unpatriotic and ungrateful.” Christian Helfrich, a health services scientist who lost his VA job in Washington state last month, said it could be years before people see the full effects of any research cuts.