Trump’s federal hiring freeze raises fears about VA medical care

Congressional lawmakers this week expressed concern that President Donald Trump’s new federal hiring freeze might damage operations at Veterans Affairs medical facilities by complicating efforts to fill vital well being care specialties.

However whether or not the chief order even applies to these posts stays unclear. Trump’s decide to guide VA informed lawmakers Tuesday that he’s nonetheless analyzing the brand new rule, however he’s optimistic it is not going to adversely influence veterans’ care.

“I feel what we’re going to see is that nobody on the veteran facet goes to overlook their well being care supplier due to this new hiring freeze,” VA secretary nominee Doug Collins informed members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee throughout his affirmation listening to. “The president is making a prudent step as he comes into workplace to be sure that we have now deal with on what we obtained.”

Simply hours after his inauguration, Trump ordered “a freeze on the hiring of federal civilian staff, to be utilized all through the chief department.” The motion lined each current vacant posts and any potential new federal jobs.

The order did embrace an exception for navy personnel, in addition to positions associated to immigration enforcement and public security. It additionally acknowledged that “nothing on this memorandum shall adversely influence the availability of Social Safety, Medicare or veterans’ advantages.”

Collins acknowledged within the affirmation listening to that precisely what that exception covers is just not clear. Advantages processors seem unaffected by the freeze, however what – if any – medical posts are lined is undefined for now. He mentioned checking out the uncertainty will probably be amongst his first priorities if he’s permitted for the VA management put up.

VA ended fiscal 2024 with about 454,000 staffers, about 417,000 of whom work in division medical facilities and clinics. About 10% of the workforce leaves every year as a result of retirement, firings or different profession alternatives.

That degree of attrition means Veterans Well being Administration officers want to rent upwards of 40,000 new employees yearly to take care of operations at VA medical websites, a big problem given the lots of of places unfold all through america.

Earlier than Trump returned to the White Home, officers from former President Joe Biden’s administration had warned that VA would possible want a finances increase of a number of billion {dollars} in coming months to maintain up hiring charges to take care of present service ranges.

Mark Takano, D-Calif., the rating member of the Home Veterans’ Affairs Committee, mentioned Tuesday Trump’s hiring halt might make that problem even worse.

“If VA freezes hiring as mandated in Trump’s government order, veterans might face vital wait occasions for medical appointments and reductions in entry to care and advantages,” Takano mentioned in a press release. “The drafters of those orders clearly didn’t take into account the downstream results of a hiring freeze on the thousands and thousands of veterans who depend on VA.”

A number of Democrats on the Senate panel expressed related issues.

“There are additionally openings the place the ability administrators are saying, ‘We’d like extra nurses, we’d like extra docs, we’d like extra psychological well being care specialists,’” mentioned Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., rating member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “You may’t present veterans well being care with out the expert professionals to do it.”

Federal union representatives additionally attacked the transfer.

“Make no mistake – this motion is just not about making the federal authorities run extra effectively however relatively is about sowing chaos and focusing on a gaggle of patriotic People that President Trump overtly calls crooked and dishonest,” American Federation of Authorities Staff President Everett Kelley mentioned in a press release.

As a part of the order, Trump directed officers in his new administration to submit plans “to cut back the scale of the federal authorities’s workforce by means of effectivity enhancements and attrition” within the subsequent 90 days. The memo states that the freeze will keep in place till a minimum of then.