VA secretary defends ‘extraordinarily difficult’ layoff plans
Veterans affairs secretary Doug Collins confirmed plans to reduce staff by about 15%, or around 80,000 people, and argued the cuts were necessary to make the department more efficient.
“We regret anyone who loses their job, and it’s extraordinarily difficult for me, especially as a VA leader and your secretary, to make these types of decisions. But the federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people,” Collins said.
“At the VA, we are focused on serving veterans better than ever before, and doing so requires changing and improving the organization.”
Collins promised the staffing reductions would be achieved “without making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries. VA will always fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers and survivors the health care and benefits they have earned. That’s a promise.”
He added that “VA will continue to hire for more than 300,000 mission critical positions to ensure healthcare and benefits for VA beneficiaries are not impacted.”
The cuts come amid a broader push by the White House to reduce staffing across the federal government. Here’s the latest on that:
Key events
Democrats are outraged at reports that the Trump administration wants to cut staffing at the department of veterans affairs by about 80,000 employees.
New York congressman Pat Ryan, one of the party’s more vulnerable lawmakers, said:
I don’t ever want to hear “thank you for your service” from that draft-dodging coward again. We already lost 20 inpatient beds for mental health and detox at my local VA. The real-world impacts of this on our nation’s heroes cannot be understated.
The sentiment was echoed by independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, a leading progressive:
Trump wants to fire 83k VA workers, many of whom are veterans themselves, decimating the VA & making it harder for veterans to get health care & benefits. When Americans put their lives on the line to defend our country, we must keep our commitments to them — not betray them.
Georgia senator Jon Ossoff, who is expected to face a tough re-election battle next year, said:
The Administration must immediately and publicly withdraw any proposal to gut the VA and imperil veterans’ care and benefits.
Already, the chaos, incompetence, and disruption are unacceptable.
Veterans earned their benefits through selfless service. It’s a contract, not a gift.
Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from veterans affairs department
The Trump administration wants to cut as many as 80,000 employees from the department of veterans affairs, with an eye towards undoing an expansion in its healthcare services that was implemented by Joe Biden, the Associated Press reports.
Citing an internal memo, the AP reports that the VA’s chief of staff Christopher Syrek wants to lower staffing at the sprawling agency tasked with the care of US military veterans to less than 400,000 employees, its staffing level in 2019. He also instructed employees to collaborate with Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, which has been accused of taking a haphazard and illegal approach to reducing government spending.
Here’s more on the potential changes, from the AP:
That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.
The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration’s goals. Government Executive first reported on the internal memo.
Veterans have already been speaking out against the cuts at the VA that so far had included a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. More than 25% of the VA’s workforce is comprised of veterans.
The plans underway at the VA showed how the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is not holding back on an all-out effort to slash federal agencies, even for those that have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support. Michael Missal, who was the VA’s inspector general for nine years until he was fired last month as part of Trump’s sweeping dismissal of independent oversight officials at government agencies, told the AP that the VA is already suffering from a lack of “expertise” as top-level officials either leave or are shuffled around under the president’s plans.
Macron warns Europe to be ‘ready’ for US not to stand by its side
The shock waves from Donald Trump’s tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and decision to suspend aid to Ukraine continue to be felt in Europe, where French the president, Emmanuel Macron, has warned his country to be “ready” for the United States to no longer stand by its side.
“We are entering a new era,” Macron said in a recorded address in which he also insisted that Russia will remain a threat to France and Europe as a whole.
We have live blog covering all the latest news from the continent across the Atlantic, and you can read it here:
White House confirms that US is negotiating directly with Hamas
Faisal Ali
The White House press secretary has confirmed a report that the US is in direct negotiations with Hamas for the first time since the group was formed, despite it being a designated foreign terrorist organization since 1997.
Earlier today Axios reported that Adam Boehler, a special envoy for hostages held in Gaza, had been engaging Hamas officials in Doha, without mediation.
Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, confirmed the report and said that Boehler had the authority to talk to anyone “to do what’s in the best interest of the American people”, though US officials frequently say they don’t negotiate with terrorists.
Leavitt didn’t say what the US officials were discussing with Hamas but said that Israel had been informed prior to talks taking place.
State department officials pen dissent cable urging Rubio to save USAid – report
Hundreds of state department employees have signed a dissent cable urging top diplomat Marco Rubio to stop the dismantling of USAid, the Bulwark reports.
“We dissent not out of opposition to the administration, but because we have dedicated our lives to making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” read the message, which was signed by more than 700 foreign services officers, state department officials as well as employees of the hobbled aid agency.
“The current trajectory endangers American lives, weakens our global standing, cedes influence to authoritarian competitors, and undermines our economic dominance. We urge a course correction before irreparable damage is done to US leadership, security, and moral authority in the world.”
Rubio has supported Donald Trump’s efforts to destroy the longstanding organization tasked with implementing Washington’s foreign aid agenda. Earlier today, the supreme court upheld a federal judge’s ruling ordering USAid to pay bills totaling $1.5b to its partners.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear that while Donald Trump has approved a one-month tariff exemption for US automakers, he still plans to use the levies to encourage them and other manufacturers to bring their production back to the United States.
A key part of that campaign is his vow of “reciprocal tariffs”, which would equal those imposed by foreign countries on US goods, and from which there will be no escape, Leavitt said.
“The reciprocal tariffs will go into effect on April 2, and he feels strongly about that, no matter what, no … exemption,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt added that Trump told the big three automakers – Ford, Stellantis and General Motors – that “they should get on it, start investing … shift production here to the United States of America, where they will pay no tariff. That’s the ultimate goal.”
White House announces tariff exemption for US automakers
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Donald Trump has agreed to a request from the three Detroit automakers for tariff exemptions for vehicles crossing the US borders with Mexico and Canada.
“We spoke with the big three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” Leavitt said, referring to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement governing trade between the nations.
“Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage.”
At her ongoing briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dodged a question about what more Canada would need to do to stop fentanyl flows, given that less than 1% of the seizures of the drug happen at the US northern border.
“Canada is allowing that fentanyl to come to the United States. The president sees these numbers. He thinks about the lives that are lost. And everybody in this room, I’m sure, everybody watching at home, everybody across the country, knows someone in our lives who has been killed at the hands of this deadly poison. There needs to be repercussions for that the president feels very strongly about,” Leavitt replied.
A reporter pressed Leavitt further, prompting Leavitt to admonish them:
You’re asking me for what the president’s justification is for these tariffs. It’s not up to you. You’re not the president … and frankly, I think it’s a little bit disrespectful to the families in this country who have lost loved ones at the hands of this deadly poison. If you talk to them, and this president has, they are grateful that they finally have a president who is standing up to both Canada and Mexico and, most importantly, to China as well.
Trump says he spoke to Trudeau, but no change in tariff policy
Donald Trump announced in a mocking post on social media that he had spoken with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, but has not changed his mind about the 25% tariffs he imposed on the major US trading partner.
“Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped. He said that it’s gotten better, but I said, ‘That’s not good enough.’ The call ended in a ‘somewhat’ friendly manner!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president again inaccurately called Trudeau “governor”, and accused him of failing to secure his border with the United States:
For anyone who is interested, I also told Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada that he largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States. These Policies are responsible for the death of many people!
The comments came after the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, signaled Trump may be willing to ease his tariffs on Canada, which businesses warn could drive prices higher in the US. Here’s the latest on that:
“Since Donald Trump began his tariff threats against Canada and his ‘jokes’ about making Canada the 51st US state, I have not bought a single product originating in the US,” said Lynne Allardice, 78, a retired business owner from New Brunswick, Canada.
“Not a single lettuce leaf or piece of fruit. I have become an avid reader of labels and have adopted an ‘anywhere but the US’ policy when shopping. I will not visit the States while Trump remains in office, and most of the people I know have adopted the same policy.”
Acquaintances, Allardice added, were selling US holiday properties they had owned for many years.
Many Canadians have responded to Trump’s economic tariffs and political messaging with a consumer boycott of US products and services – no more California wines or American Bourbon; local shopping instead of Amazon Prime; analogue entertainment and cable TV instead of Netflix and Spotify; holidays in the Kootenays instead of Disney World.
Hundreds of people from across Canada shared with the Guardian their reactions to Washington’s political and economic gear change, and how they may be affected personally.
Here’s more on this story:
Stephanie Kirchgaessner
The Trump administration is preparing to overhaul a $42.5bn Biden-era program designed to connect tens of millions of rural Americans to reliable and affordable high-speed internet, in a move that is expected to benefit billionaire Elon Musk.
Howard Lutnick, the commerce department secretary who has oversight of the federal program, recently told senior officials inside the department that he wants to make significant changes to the federal program, sources with knowledge of the matter told the Guardian.
Instead of promoting an expensive buildout of fiber optic networks – as the Biden administration sought to do – Lutnick has said he wants states to choose the internet technology that would be low cost for taxpayers.
That, experts agree, would favor satellite companies such as Musk’s Starlink. Musk, whose company owns about 62% of all operating satellites, has not hidden his disdain for Biden-era program, telling voters last year that he believed it should be brought down to “zero”.
You can read more on this story here:
Joseph Gedeon
Democratic congressman Robert Garcia from California turned his gaze towards New York’s mayor, Eric Adams – but not just for his sanctuary city policy: he dug into his court dealings and called for his resignation.
Garcia said that he is “confident that Adams committed the crimes with which he is charged”, which include bribery and campaign finance violations.
Adams was tight-lipped. “There is no deal, there is no quid pro quo. I did not do anything wrong.”
Garcia wrapped with a call for Adams to step down. “I personally agree with the majority of New Yorkers and think, Mr Mayor, you should resign.”
Joseph Gedeon
What started out as a congressional grilling has instead morphed into a clear platform for pro-Democratic immigration city policies, but maybe that could have been assumed, all things considered.
The four Democratic mayors from Chicago, New York, Denver and Boston have had an outsized platform to speak, which has only benefited from friendly questions from congressional Democrats who insist that sanctuary cities are generally safer.
The day so far
The supreme court has upheld a federal judge’s order that USAid disburse $1.5b in payments to its partners, a setback in the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the agency. The lower court will now determine when the aid agency must pay its bills, while four of the court’s conservatives signed a dissent complaining that the decision is overly broad. Meanwhile, lawmakers are reacting to Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress last night. The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, condemned the remarks as excessively partisan, while the rightwing House Freedom caucus said it will propose censuring Democrat Al Green for disrupting Trump’s speech.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
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Sylvester Turner, a Democratic former Houston mayor who was just elected to the House, has died at the age of 70.
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Trump thanked conservative supreme court chief justice John Roberts at the conclusion of yesterday’s speech, and said: “Won’t forget it.” For what, the president did not say.
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Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, told Bloomberg Television that Trump may announce changes to his tariffs on Canada and Mexico this afternoon.
Joseph Gedeon
Democratic mayors from major American cities are not backing down from a tense, GOP-led House oversight committee hearing as they defend their approach to protecting undocumented people in their city limits.
New York’s Eric Adams, Denver’s Mike Johnston, Boston’s Michelle Wu (who is in attendance with her one-month-old daughter) and Chicago’s Brandon Johnson are fielding questions about the national security implications of so-called sanctuary cities. But the mayors are biting back.
“If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms,” Wu said. “Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our cities safe.”
The room is filled to the brim, and the Republican committee chair, James Comer from Kentucky, indicated it would be a long hearing, with 60 members of Congress apparently interested in asking questions.
This post has been corrected to note that Boston’s mayor is Michelle Wu.
