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Senators Richard Blumenthal & Tammy Duckworth Sound the Alarm on Press Call

This afternoon, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal and Senator Tammy Duckworth held a press call to deliver urgent warnings and answer questions regarding the Trump administration's recent actions and their consequences for American veterans.

OPENING REMARKS FROM THE SENATORS

• At the beginning of the press call, Sen. Tammy Duckworth criticized President Donald Trump for failing to support veterans despite his promises. She stated that Trump and Elon Musk eliminated 1,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), leading to longer wait times, increased backlogs, and chaos for veterans seeking care and benefits. She accused Trump and Musk of cutting federal jobs, including those held by veterans, to finance tax cuts for corporations and billionaires.

• Sen. Duckworth recounted stories from veterans affected by the layoffs, including those who worked at the Veterans Crisis Hotline. She revealed that after she raised concerns with the VA, at least two dismissed employees in Illinois were reportedly rehired, though they remained locked out of their work portal. She questioned why these essential jobs were even targeted, stating that many of the affected workers were veterans themselves. Sen. Duckworth then pledged to continue fighting for veterans impacted by the job cuts and to pressure the administration into reinstating them.

• Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal expressed anger over the job cuts, stating that Trump and Musk were not only disrespecting veterans but also depriving them of essential healthcare and benefits. He argued that the layoffs and budget cuts were the most significant attack on veterans’ healthcare in the history of the VA. He pledged to fight back by mobilizing veterans, holding rallies, and conducting hearings to hold the VA leadership accountable.

• Ranking Member Blumenthal asserted that cutting jobs at the VA would actually increase healthcare costs due to service delays. He and Sen. Duckworth planned to send a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins to demand accountability and expose how budget cuts were disproportionately harming veterans. He accused the administration of balancing the budget on the backs of veterans while funneling savings into tax cuts for billionaires.

• The Ranking Member pointed out that essential services, such as cardiology, mental health care, mammograms, and suicide prevention, had been severely impacted. He condemned the elimination of transportation services for disabled veterans and reductions in caregiver support programs. He also criticized the administration for firing younger probationary employees, who represented the future of the VA workforce, while simultaneously harming veterans who relied on VA services.

• Ranking Member Blumenthal concluded by claiming that VA employees lacked an effective appeals process since the administration had fired the leadership of the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics, consolidating power under VA Secretary Doug Collins.

Q&A

• A reporter from The Washington Post asked what Congress could do to protect the 30% of federal employees who were veterans. Sen. Duckworth admitted that options were limited because Trump had granted Musk unchecked authority over these layoffs. She mentioned that she had successfully helped reinstate two veterans in Illinois who worked at the crisis hotline. Sen. Duckworth went on to say that Trump was ultimately responsible for enabling these firings. She invited any affected veterans to contact her office for assistance, though she acknowledged that Congress had limited power due to the current political landscape.

• A reporter from The Associated Press asked for more details regarding delayed or denied healthcare services for veterans. Ranking Member Blumenthal said he would follow up with specific cases but cited the failure of a VA clinic in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to open due to staffing cuts. He noted that mental health services, particularly the Veterans Crisis Line, had suffered from job losses.

• A reporter from The Wall Street Journal asked for clarification on whether the 1,000 layoffs primarily affected probationary employees or included other categories of reductions. The Ranking Member confirmed that the 1,000 job cuts included a mix of probationary employees and other reductions. He warned that a recent executive order would prevent rehiring for three out of every four vacancies, eventually cutting the VA workforce by 75%.

• A local reporter from The New Haven Register inquired about the impact of the cuts on Connecticut’s VA facilities, particularly the West Haven campus infrastructure project. Ranking Member Blumenthal vowed to fight for the continuation of the West Haven VA project, which had been years in the making. He expressed concern that the administration’s history of breaking promises on veterans’ services could put the project at risk. He also reported that Connecticut veterans were deeply frustrated and fearful about the impact of the cuts.

• A reporter from Military.com asked for data on the total number of veterans across the federal government who had lost their jobs and whether the senators had engaged with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to reinstate them. Ranking Member Blumenthal acknowledged that precise data was difficult to obtain but estimated that tens of thousands of federal employees had been affected. He accused Musk of treating the federal workforce as "roadkill" in pursuit of financial savings for tax cuts. The Ranking Member argued that the real issue was not just numbers but the severe consequences of the cuts, including life-threatening delays in care.

• The same reporter asked for more details about a VA employee suicide that was mentioned earlier in the call. Ranking Member Blumenthal claimed that the tragedy occurred last week in Kentucky and alluded that it may not have been the only case.

• Another reporter from The Washington Post asked whether there was any indication that the Trump administration was willing to rehire veterans who had been laid off. Ranking Member Blumenthal stated that there was no sign of willingness from the administration to reinstate fired veterans. He supported legal challenges to the layoffs and committed to advocating for appeals. He then revealed that he and Senator Duckworth were demanding a formal explanation from Secretary Collins.

• A local reporter from Connecticut Public Radio asked whether Ranking Member Blumenthal regretted voting to confirm Secretary Collins as VA Secretary. The Ranking Member admitted that voting for Collins had been a mistake and apologized to veterans. He accused Secretary Collins of breaking promises made during his confirmation process, pointing to Collins ignoring over 20 of his inquiries about the layoffs.

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