More government workers are coming forward to issue a warning about the Trump administration’s ruthless policies and their potentially disastrous outcomes.
This time, former and current medical personnel at the Department of Veterans Affairs are calling out imminent cuts to staffing and services for those who have served the nation.
Over 100 professionals signed a letter that was sent to members of Congress, VA Secretary Doug Collins, and the agency’s inspector general.
"We write to raise urgent concerns about proposed policies which, in addition to ones already enacted, will undermine VA’s healthcare system, overwhelm VA’s budget, and negatively affect the lives of all veterans," the letter states.
The signees—who consist of approximately 170 physicians, psychologists, and other health workers—warn that should the administration’s plans to cut staffing and keep outsourcing care come to fruition, veterans’ hospitals could shutter.
Related | Veterans Affairs chief looks to slash agency—even if veterans suffer
“If this trend continues, VHA facilities may be forced to close, and veterans may beforced into costlier, often overburdened community health systems ill-equippedto meet their specialized needs,” they wrote, adding, “As healthcare costs increase, veterans’ benefits will be jeopardized.”
By speaking out, these care workers are risking the wrath of Trump and his minions, who have plucked out and punished employees for critiquing other government agencies.
At the Environmental Protection Agency, staffers have been fired and suspended in two different instances for raising concerns.
In July, the administration placed roughly 140 EPA employees on administrative leave when they called out staffing cuts and the impact that Secretary Lee Zeldin’s anti-regulatory moves would have on the environment.
And on Sept. 5, the EPA came for more of its employees who signed a letter of dissent, suspending them without pay.
Other government workers are under the weight of the administration as well. At the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Trump’s team has floated abolishing altogether, employees who shared concerns were placed on leave in August and later asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Even the Health and Human Services Department received pleas from workers who urged Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to resign in the wake of a violent, targeted attack at the Centers for Disease Control and his ongoing efforts to discredit modern medicine.
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Similarly, scientists at the National Institutes of Health wrote a letter in June ahead of ongoing budget cuts.
"[W]e dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe," the letter reads. "We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety and faithful stewardship of public resources."
Three months later, though, the harm those scientists warned about is happening in real time.
In addition to what is happening at the VA, Kennedy and his appointed advisers overseeing vaccine policy removed recommendations for immunizations like the COVID-19 vaccine.
Despite claiming this recommendation would simply give people—namely pregnant women and children—an option to choose what goes into their bodies, it’s also giving insurance companies the green light to not foot the bill.
In other words, expecting mothers or parents wanting to immunize their children could be forced to pay out of pocket thanks to Kennedy and his anti-vaxx cronies stripping the recommendation.
As professionals within the administration’s grip continue to speak out against changes, Trump’s team seems hell-bent on punishing them for opening their mouths at all.
