US EditionA Democratic senator is putting holds on VA nominees to protest Trump’s plans to cut its workforce
- On Tuesday, Arizona Senator and Marine Corps veteran Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, announced he would block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs .
- Gallego's action is in response to the Trump administration's plans to cut jobs at the VA, a move Democrats are pushing back against.
- This action marks a significant escalation in Democrats' effort to counter Trump's plans to slash federal agencies, using a Senate maneuver known as a hold, which makes it impossible to quickly confirm nominees.
- Gallego, after speaking with veterans and seeing the situation in Arizona, stated to The Associated Press, "whatever tool I have to fix the situation, I'm going to use it. And this is one of the few tools I have at this point," referencing the hold.
- The VA plans to cut its workforce by over 80,000 people, potentially returning staffing levels to just under 400,000 as in 2019, even as the VA provides benefits under the 2022 PACT Act to veterans impacted by burn pits and toxin exposure, with Democrats warning that these cuts will affect care for veterans.
50 Articles
50 Articles
Sen. Ruben Gallego blocks VA nominees to protest Trump’s plans to cut the agency's workforce
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego announced Tuesday he will block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, raising the stakes in Democrats’ bid to get the Trump administration to back off plans to cut jobs from the sprawling agency that serves millions of military veterans.
Upset with upside-down flags protesting Trump's policies, dad & 2 boys scale cliff to hang US flag in Zion National Park
Joe Evermore explained he was “bothered” by the upside-down flags that were placed in parks to protest the Trump administration reducing the federal workforce.
Muscatine Journal
Senator says he'll block nominees for the VA
WASHINGTON — Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego announced Tuesday he will block the confirmation of top leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, raising the stakes in Democrats' bid to get the Trump administration to back off plans to cut jobs…
Sen. Gallego Announces Blanket Hold on Veterans Affairs Nominees to Protest Planned Staff Cuts
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) announced on April 1 that he would impose a blanket hold on all Department of Veterans Affairs nominees in protest of a plan to cut more than 80,000 jobs at the department. Reports emerged on March 4, based on a leaked memo attributed to the department chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, that the Trump administration seeks to cut as many as 84,000 Veterans Affairs jobs. Such a cut, if enacted, would bring the departme…
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