The Department of Veterans Affairs has fired 1,400 staff after its first round of layoff terminated 1,000 employees on February 13, sparking anger from lawmakers.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate VA committee expressed concerns following the administration’s sweeping cuts.

“Doug Collins continues to put the interests of veterans last with additional indiscriminate firings of VA employees who serve veterans, including patient-facing employees,” he said in a statement.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration’s effort to cut jobs is part of a broader push to reshape the federal workforce, driven by Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk‘s schemes to downsize the government.

What To Know

The latest firings were from “non-mission critical positions,” including potentially “DEI-related positions,” according to VA officials.

Monday’s dismissals affected bargaining unit employees with less than two years in their positions. Officials stated that no mission-critical jobs were impacted but did not specify the types of assignments that were eliminated.

Officials said that Veterans Crisis Line responders were impacted by recent or previous dismissals. However, department workers reported that some support staff for the crisis line were among those laid off.

Collins maintained that the dismissals would lead to “a change for the better” within the department. Officials estimate the job cuts will save approximately $83 million annually, which will be redirected to other benefits and healthcare priorities.

The action swiftly drew condemnation from Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill who said they were “deeply disturbed” by the move.

Blumenthal warned on Tuesday that the layoffs will impact the VA’s ability to recruit and retain doctors and nurses.

On February 13, VA officials announced plans to lay off approximately 1,000 probationary employees from non-bargaining units, citing an expected savings of $98 million. This followed the department’s January decision to dismiss around 60 employees involved in diversity and inclusion efforts—an area former President Donald Trump has criticized as detrimental to the workforce.

In total, nearly 2,500 employees have been removed from Veterans Affairs so far, representing roughly 0.5% of the department’s nearly 480,000-person workforce.

The VA employs approximately 40,000 probationary workers nationwide, but officials stated that most are exempt from personnel actions due to their roles in mission-critical positions.

Additionally, they noted that about two-thirds of all VA jobs are not affected by the federal hiring freeze implemented by Trump in January.

What People Are Saying

VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement: “These and other recent personnel decisions are extraordinarily difficult, but VA is focused on allocating its resources to help as many Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors as possible.

“These moves will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. In fact, Veterans are going to notice a change for the better. In the coming weeks and months, VA will be announcing plans to put these resources to work helping the department fulfill its core mission: providing the best possible care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.”

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee said in a statement: “I am deeply disturbed by Secretary Collins’ continued actions that are harming veterans, military spouses, civil servants and their families.

“To say that these firings will not affect veterans’ care and benefits is a lie.”

Veterans of Foreign Wars said in a statement: “There are bigger ramifications in firing veterans than just faceless workers being let go. The American people are losing technical expertise, training and security clearances already bought and paid for by taxpayers. These veterans are now being told their skills are no longer useful to the government. We’re losing people who are genuinely committed to the mission and find a continued sense of purpose in what they do.”

What Happens Next

While the specific outlook for the VA is unclear, it is expected that more employees in the federal workforce will be laid off as the Trump administration looks to slash costs.