Memorandum: Damage Assessment at VA, and Looming Cuts

Memorandums,   Press Releases

Memorandum

FR: Kayla Williams, Senior Policy Advisor, VoteVets
TO: All Interested Parties
DA: 14 APR 2025
RE: Damage Assessment at VA, and Looming Cuts

After two and a half months in office, the impact of Donald Trump’s administration on veterans’ care and benefits has been substantial, and it will likely get much worse from here. This memo looks back at how we got there, and provides a “watch list” of programs and items that may be affected next, so that cuts and changes can face push back as soon as they happen.

 

A LOOK BACK 

Since Inauguration Day, this administration has instituted and then swiftly exempted healthcare posts from a hiring freeze; closed offices dedicated to improving cohesion within in the agency; fired the VA inspector general; fired probationary employees; cancelled large numbers of contracts; frozen government credit cards used to purchase critical supplies; announced an end to gender-affirming care for transgender veterans (and banned pride symbols); and even ended a mortgage-rescue program designed to protect veterans from foreclosure. 

The rapid succession of dramatic changes – along with the promise to eliminate nearly 80,000 additional workers – has caused deep anxiety among many VA employees and the veterans they are dedicated to serving. It has also caused critical employees to leave the VA, only to be immediately urged to return. 

For instance, take the Veterans Crisis Hotline. DOGE laid off nearly 1000 workers at the VA early on in its efforts, including those who handled the hotline, ended remote work for others, and froze hiring for new employees. Many of the sudden personnel moves had to be reversed, causing mass confusion. Further, the “return to work” directive caused therapists to hold remote sessions with veterans in non-private spaces, and warn veterans that their privacy could not be guaranteed. There is now a demoralized atmosphere within the agency.

Indeed, some top-performing employees – those best able to find work outside VA – are resigning due to stress and uncertainty. This is leading to increased pressure on other employees, since facilities are not hiring for vacant positions in anticipation of a pending Reduction in Force. To put it bluntly, it is easier for senior leaders to cut vacant positions altogether rather than to hire people only to fire them. 

However, their duties and responsibilities aren’t going away just because positions are unfilled. Burnout is rising, and even more people could leave as a result. Some employees are exploring other options to leave the workforce earlier than planned. 

For example, those working remotely with reasonable accommodation for a medical disability choose to take disability retirement immediately rather than wait to see if their positions will get eliminated. These workers are therefore still getting paid, perhaps less, but they are no longer doing any work on behalf of veterans. 

This is just the beginning. As noted above, heavier cuts are planned and will be devastating to Veterans and their families. 

 

A LOOK AHEAD: WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

While it is impossible to determine what exactly will be included in the VA reorganization plan before it is released in June, hints at what may be coming can be found in public statements by VA senior leaders, leaks from current employees, and assessments of what has already been announced. 

The following are programs and procedures to keep an eye on for any sign of disruption or cuts. First, informed analysis can predict the mechanisms that will likely be used:

  • Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) 
    • Status: Currently active 
    • Eliminates people, not necessarily positions 
    • Temporary lowers age & service requirements to encourage employees to leave voluntarily; enables agencies to do major reorganization. 
    • More experienced employees qualify under VERA: 50 or older with 20 years service or any age with 25 years service. 
    • Folks with institutional knowledge and deep expertise. 
  •  Reduction in Force (RIF) 
    • Status: Announcement expected April 21st
    • Abolishes positions 
    • Assuming this administration follows regulations:
      • Regulations dictate whether specific employees can keep their position or have a right to a different position, based on factors like veterans’ preference, length of service, and performance ratings. 
      • More junior employees will be let go first under RIF 
        • This includes those hoping for promotions and hard workers striving for that next level (vs. those already eyeing retirement). 
        • They are more likely to have children, leading to ripple effects for communities if laid-off workers must pull kids out of daycare centers. 
    • Using both RIF and VERA simultaneously could mean leaving more folks in the “middle” of the employment lifecycle, without adequate experience to be leaders but with too much expertise to find job satisfaction in doing entry-level work. 
    • Long-term effect: Fewer entry-level employees will be available to climb the ladder. Hollowing out of the entire federal workforce. 

With broad cuts to the workforce, we may see: 

  • Appointment delays, leading to more veterans being eligible for community care, ultimately leading to a “death spiral” that sees VA turned into a glorified health insurance company. This is an “existential threat to the VA Health System.”
  • Delayed adaptation of improved medical technologies.
  • Slower hiring due to fewer HR employees. 
  • IT security vulnerabilities that are not identified or repaired in a timely manner could lead to data breaches. 
  • Decimation of the VA research program. 

Specific critical programs/services could see steeper cuts. This could include: 

  • VA Suicide Prevention Programs, which SECVA Collins has called a waste of money. He has also questioned VA suicide research, saying he doesn’t even know how many veterans die by suicide. 
    • More money may be shifted to SSG Fox grants to outside organizations, regardless of whether they have shown any effectiveness. 
  • Pilot or specialty programs may be targeted, for instance: 
    • Cuts to on-site childcare programs, music therapy, art therapy, and other programs that could be seen as non-clinical. 
  • LGBTQ+ Veterans Care Coordinators, as part of DEI purge. 
    • Worst-case: Termination of all providers who have provided gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy to transgender veterans. Also, the Office of Health Equity may be a part of this purge. 
  • Termination of all health care providers who provided abortion care.
  • Homelessness prevention programs, many of which require collaboration with another agency facing major cuts, such as HUD.
  • National Social Work Program – VA is the largest employer of social workers, who help with care coordination and connect veterans to other resources that support their needs related to not only clinical care but also functional status, housing, and more. A major reorganization is possible. 
  • Efforts to help veterans register to vote.
  • Communications offices – increased consolidation at the national level, reducing both the subject-matter expertise of specialized communications personnel and the local connections of personnel at the community level. This will make it harder to communicate quickly, clearly, and accurately to veterans and the public about complicated or fast-developing issues. 
  • Office of Inspector General, due to general disdain for checks and balances and oversight. 

It is not just offices and positions that will be eliminated, either. Following the Project 2025 playbook, expect VA to seek “significant cost savings from revising disability rating awards for future claimants. Traditionally, revisions to the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) have been done slowly, carefully, and after seeking public comment through the Federal Register. But this administration will likely try to skirt the standard process even at the risk of being sued. 

VA could deny use of GI Bill benefits at universities the administration is attacking, or for beneficiaries seeking degrees in majors considered “DEI.” 

Simple contracts that aid veterans and their providers may also already have been cut. There have been some rumblings among veteran advocates that VA’s LinkedIn contract has been cut, ending VA employees’ ability to access LinkedIn Learning and a contract to help hire for critical nursing positions. 

 

CONCLUSION

In just a matter of weeks, this administration has taken a wrecking ball to VA care, often so clumsily that it had to reverse course. The net effect is a department that has become demoralized and less attractive for our best and brightest people to work, to help those who served. 

Worse, action thus far is just a tiny fraction of what this administration has planned. There is little time left to stop them from potentially putting the Department of Veterans Affairs on the path to ruin, and the benefits and care on which veterans depend on the chopping block. “Move fast and break things” may work for developing apps, but it’s a terrible philosophy to apply to providing life-saving health care and benefits. Our veterans deserve more than taking a reckless slash-and-burn approach to the largest integrated health care system in the country.

It is absolutely critical that all allies of veterans in Congress and throughout the country speak out loudly and bluntly about what has happened, and what is coming, to pressure Republicans in Congress to join with Democrats to stop the administration. Only through communication and education do we have a chance to save our VA for current vetera