DOGE guts Veteran Affairs

PREVIEW: The new administration has signed an executive order to cut more than 80,000 Veteran Affairs positions by August. This action is part of a greater Government Efficiency initiative to decrease the federal workforce. President Trump wants to return Veteran Affairs to 2019 staffing levels, which consisted of roughly 399,000 workers; current VA staffing levels are ~482,000. It is safe to say that Trump is trying to undo what Biden did during his term, “VA staffed up significantly under the Biden administration, including a record-setting year in fiscal 2023 when the Veterans Health Administration alone hired 61,000 new employees” (Katz, 2025).