Several veterans impacted by the Department of Government Efficiency cuts and layoffs shared how DOGE has harmed them during a virtual town hall on Wednesday hosted by VoteVets.
During the town hall, Navy veteran Kyle Lewis of Columbia, Maryland said that he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in January 2020.
“I was given 6 weeks to live, my doctor said if you don’t start this experimental and aggressive treatment now, you’re not going to be here much longer,” he said. “I was fortunate to get into a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins, which was funded by the NIH. I say 'was' funded because it’s not anymore. The cuts that DOGE has made to cancer research as well as other lifesaving medical research has put my cancer research at risk, as well as millions of Americans including veterans and children who are in far worse situations than I am.
"I just find this absolutely disgusting as an American. This is not how we take care of our family, our friends and our communities.”
DOGE has slashed thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of grants and funding across the federal government, including some 2,400 positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
During the town hall, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill), a U.S. Army veteran, said President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are firing more veterans than any other president in recent history and are jeopardizing access to the care and benefits they have earned through their service,
“Let’s call Trump and Musk’s DOGE cuts what they are,” she said. “They’re a middle finger to our veterans, and they’re a slap in the face to the sacrifices they’ve made. Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk may not know the first thing about sacrifice and service, but our veterans sure as hell do.
"We will not be quiet, and I will never stop working to honor the commitment we’ve made to our nation’s heroes.”
Navy veteran Dustin Conklin, of Caseyville, Illinois, said he accepted a job with the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service last fall.
“The USDA moved me out here to Illinois. I left where I was secure. I left my support network,” he said. "On Feb. 13 in the middle of the night, I open up my email and I get a blank email with an attachment saying I was fired. I’m going to lose my health insurance that covers me and my daughter. My health insurance is important because I have regular therapy appointments and access to medication that I’m about to lose.
"And through this whole time, I see on the internet Elon Musk playing with chainsaws and the President posting things laughing about making people cry. It’s been defeating.”
Frances Greenley said she served as a Naval Engineering Officer for the Coast Guard. After leaving the service, she went to work for the Federal Acquisition Service.
“I was fired by a political appointee in a form letter,” she said. If [Trump and Musk] want to increase the transparency and best use of the dollar, you would increase personnel who are project management specialists and contracting officers – but they terminated me instead.”
Duckworth, who became a double amputee when the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by an RPG in Iraq, pledged to continue advocating for veterans during the town hall.
VA has said that veteran care, benefits and beneficiaries will not be affected by the personnel moves, which will allow it to redirect $180 million per year back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.
According to VA, it is also continuing to take multiple steps to ensure all mission-critical positions are exempt from the federal hiring freeze and layoffs, and make sure VA benefits and services are not affected. VA leaders can request that employees be exempted from probationary removal and hiring continues for more than 300,000 essential positions that are exempted from the hiring freeze because they provide health care and other vital services.
For additional flexibility, VA also has created a process department leaders can use to request additional exceptions to the hiring freeze.
In addition, 35 Democratic senators, including Duckworth and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have also called on VA Secretary Doug Collins to immediately reinstate the more than 1,000 VA employees who were fired earlier this month.
Reach Julia LeDoux att Julia@connectingvets.com.