Why did the VA cancel its plan to fire tens of thousands of workers?

The Department of Veterans Affairs is scrapping plans for mass layoffs

backing off a proposal that would have cut 83,000 jobs. The proposal outlined in a VA memo followed an executive order by President Donald Trump

and aimed to roll staffing back to 2019 levels. VA hiring surged during the Biden administration

after passage of the PACT Act, which expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances

But after blowback from lawmakers, veterans groups and even officials inside the VA, the agency says it's taking a different approach

Instead of 83,000 layoffs, the department expects to lose about 30,000 workers through retirement, satrition and deferred resignations

17,000 have already left and another 12,000 could exit by the end of September

To protect frontline services, the VA exempted more than 350,000 positions, including doctors, nurses and claims processors, from hiring freezes and early retirement offers

Still, critics aren't convinced. Senator Richard Blumenthal says the agency is, quote, bleeding employees across the board at an unsustainable rate

He blames poor planning in what he called a toxic work environment. The VA points to signs of progress, including faster processing of disability claims

renewed rollout of its electronic health record system, and plans to consolidate payroll and

call centers. The department insists access to care won't suffer. But with tens of thousands

of employees still on the way out, the pressure to deliver for veterans is only growing

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey. For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com