According to a memo obtained by AFP on Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to cut approximately 80,000 jobs from the federal department in charge of veterans’ health care and other benefits.
The decision to reduce the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) brings Trump’s unprecedented cost-cutting efforts, led by billionaire adviser Elon Musk, into another sensitive area, with Democrats quick to seize the opportunity.
The VA and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will work together to “identify and eliminate waste, reduce management and bureaucracy, reduce footprint, and increase workforce efficiency,” according to the memo.
“A portion of the savings garnered will be reinvested in the veterans we serve and the systems required to support our workforce and execute our mission,” according to the announcement.
According to the memo, the initial goal is to return VA staffing to the 2019 level of 399,957 employees, who are responsible for providing benefits such as health care, education, and disability pay to veterans.
In early February, the VA stated that it employed more than 479,000 people, implying that the plan would eliminate approximately 80,000 jobs.
Some Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Mark Takano of California, slammed the proposed cuts, saying in a statement: “This deliberate dismantling of VA’s workforce… is not just dangerous — it is an outright betrayal of veterans.”
“These cuts will affect more than just those seeking health care. They will cause havoc in every aspect of VA, delaying benefits, straining claims processing, and making it nearly impossible for student veterans and schools to obtain the assistance they require.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington stated that it is “infuriating that two billionaires think they can fire tens of thousands of people responsible for administering the services and care that over nine million veterans across the country rely on,” referring to Trump and Musk.
“It is flat-out immoral and a breach of the sacred commitment we make to our veterans to take care of them when they return home,” she said in an email.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has launched a massive offensive aimed at reducing public spending and the federal bureaucracy, which was one of his campaign promises.
To that end, he appointed Musk, a top campaign donor turned close adviser, to lead DOGE, which has eliminated thousands of government jobs and restructured agencies, prompting numerous lawsuits.
His first targets included federal bureaucrats in charge of diversity policies.
His administration has also attempted to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), effectively ending many humanitarian and other support projects around the world.
A source familiar with the situation told AFP on Tuesday that the Internal Revenue Service, which is in charge of collecting US federal taxes, is considering laying off up to half of its approximately 90,000 employees.