Sen. Chris Van Hollen: DOGE cuts a 'betrayal' of veterans in federal workforce

Carson Swick, The Baltimore Sun on Mar 18, 2025

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Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen is troubled by what the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce mean for veterans in those positions.

“I do think this is a great betrayal of so many in our country, but especially a betrayal of our veterans,” Van Hollen said Tuesday at Towson University.

Van Hollen referred to “clearly illegal actions” by President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk, who he said were using false claims of “poor performance” to justify widespread firings of federal employees from agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The administration plans to cut 80,000 VA employees, according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press two weeks ago.

“They got notices for claiming they were fired for poor performance. But in fact, so many have gotten recent reviews and evaluations with glowing performance reports,” Van Hollen said. “This was a lie designed to try to meet the requirements of the law.”

Initial court rulings related to mass firings, such as the decision in Maryland v. United States Department of Agriculture, have established that the Trump administration did not adhere to “reduction in force” (RIF) notice procedures in violation of the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act. Maryland Federal Judge James K. Bredar issued a temporary restraining order to reinstate terminated probationary employees — who Van Hollen says have the least job security among federal workers and have consequently become Trump’s first targets.

Van Hollen also criticized the practice of putting federal employees on administrative leave, as he believes it is fundamentally opposed to the principle of “government efficiency” promoted by Musk and DOGE.

“This whole claim of government efficiency is a farce because what is more inefficient than paying people and then telling them not to come into their job on behalf of the American people?” Van Hollen quipped.

Asked to respond to Van Hollen’s claim that federal staffing cuts are a “betrayal” of veterans, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly issued a statement touting Trump’s VA reforms while echoing Republican talking points about addressing “wasteful spending.”

“President Trump has consistently stood up for our brave men and women in uniform — delivering crucial reforms that improved VA healthcare, decreased Veteran homelessness, and enhanced education benefits,” Kelly said in an email. “His efforts to cut wasteful spending and make agencies like the VA more efficient will ensure our government can better serve all American families, especially our Veterans.”

Veterans frustrated

The senator’s comments came during his roundtable discussion Tuesday with veterans who shared their stories and had been personally impacted by layoffs. According to Van Hollen, more than 700,000 veterans work in the federal civil service, including more than 40,000 from Maryland.

Vincent Camacho, a 24-year Air Force veteran who served in Iraq, Kuwait, and Kosovo, recently retired from the military and took a program analyst position in the federal civil service. After just seven months on the job, Camacho said his position fell victim to the Trump cuts, and he was placed on administrative leave.

“After retiring from the Air Force, I chose to continue my service to my country, applying the skills and lessons I gained to a new mission,” Camacho said. “But now I find myself in a perplexing and painful position.”

Octavia Hatem, who joined the military at 17 and served in diplomatic roles in countries like Haiti and Kyrgyzstan, said she was fired from her communications/marketing support job at the VA. Now, benefits that Hatem was once sure she could count on are no longer certain.

“I get my paycheck from the VA, and my healthcare benefits from the VA and my disability benefits from the VA, which I thought was safe. And now it’s not.” Hatem said.

A 12-year Army veteran, Ronald Mark Hill was laid off from the VA but reinstated after contacting his state senator — though he is unsure if he could be fired again. Hill had a more political message for the presidential administration pursuing cuts.

“We will not endure the pain if no one bothers to explain what we stand to gain,” Hill said. “And Republicans who choose to ignore the electorate will clearly hear our voice during the midterm elections.”

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