Lawmakers: “Your Administration’s actions are damaging the economic security and morale of our military and veteran families, the federal government’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality talent, and ultimately, our national security.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and 19 colleagues in sending a letter calling on President Donald Trump to cease his attack on our nation’s heroes and immediately reinstate all veterans who have been illegally fired in his Administration’s mass terminations of federal employees with their full back pay and benefits. Veterans make up 30% of the federal workforce, with 640,000 veterans working in federal agencies.
“We are increasingly concerned by the real-life negative impacts your Administration’s directives are having on our nation’s military and veteran community,” wrote the lawmakers. “This includes the abrupt and indiscriminate termination of more than 30,000 employees across the federal government. Among those fired are veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and Guard and Reserve members with exemplary performance reviews - including 2,400 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and thousands of employees at the Department of Defense (DOD). These men and women have dedicated their careers to serving veterans and their nation. In return, your Administration has upended their lives and casually discarded their service without any notice or justification – all for a statistic on a press release.”
The Trump Administration’s mass terminations have already led to the unprecedented firing of an estimated 6,000 veterans. The Senators emphasized these terminations have been done in an “abrupt, inconsistent, unjustified, and unlawful way with no consultation with Congress and absolutely no transparency or accountability to the American people.” The Administration has not provided Congress with information detailing the exact number of veterans fired. In addition, many of these terminated employees had exemplary performance records and multiple years of work experience in government service.
The Senators continued emphasizing the harmful disproportionate impacts of Trump’s mass termination of federal employees on veterans: “Federal civil service has long been a preferred path for military-affiliated populations, allowing them to continue serving our country while offering competitive wages, benefits, and much-needed stability…Across the federal government, veterans make up approximately 30 percent of the workforce – more than 640,000 veterans. At DOD, where you have announced the imminent firing of 5,400 employees, with plans to cut anywhere from 35,000 to 56,000 in the near future – the percentage of veterans is nearly 50 percent. And at VA, where veterans are able to do work directly impacting their fellow veterans, the percentage of veteran employees is nearly 30 percent. Each and every day, these veterans perform duties vital to the American people, our national security and our way of life.”
The Senators concluded by calling on Trump to end his attack on veterans and reinstate every terminated veteran employee: “Your Administration’s actions are damaging the economic security and morale of our military and veteran families, the federal government’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality talent, and ultimately, our national security. We demand that you cease your attacks on our nation’s heroes, who have already given so much in defense of our country, and immediately reinstate those who have been illegally fired with their full back pay and benefits.”
In addition to Senators Hirono, Blumenthal, and Kaine, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear President Trump,
We are increasingly concerned by the real-life negative impacts your Administration’s directives are having on our nation’s military and veteran community. This includes the abrupt and indiscriminate termination of more than 30,000 employees across the federal government. Among those fired are veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and Guard and Reserve members with exemplary performance reviews - including 2,400 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and thousands of employees at the Department of Defense (DOD). These men and women have dedicated their careers to serving veterans and their nation. In return, your Administration has upended their lives and casually discarded their service without any notice or justification – all for a statistic on a press release.
Federal civil service has long been a preferred path for military-affiliated populations, allowing them to continue serving our country while offering competitive wages, benefits, and much-needed stability. In return, every single agency in our government and every single taxpayer benefits from these experienced, talented, and dedicated employees. Across the federal government, veterans make up approximately 30 percent of the workforce – more than 640,000 veterans. At DOD, where you have announced the imminent firing of 5,400 employees, with plans to cut anywhere from 35,000 to 56,000 in the near future – the percentage of veterans is nearly 50 percent. And at VA, where veterans are able to do work directly impacting their fellow veterans, the percentage of veteran employees is nearly 30 percent. Each and every day, these veterans perform duties vital to the American people, our national security and our way of life.
Rather than leading these employees and utilizing their talents to better serve veterans and taxpayers, you have chosen to fire them in an abrupt, inconsistent, unjustified, and unlawful way with no consultation with Congress and absolutely no transparency or accountability to the American people. Your Administration’s actions are damaging the economic security and morale of our military and veteran families, the federal government’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality talent, and ultimately, our national security. We demand that you cease your attacks on our nation’s heroes, who have already given so much in defense of our country, and immediately reinstate those who have been illegally fired with their full back pay and benefits.
Sincerely,
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