Blumenthal, Senate Democrats Demand Trump Exempt All VA Employees from Hiring Freeze

Thursday, January 23, 2025

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today led a group of 24 Democratic Senators calling on President Trump to put veterans first and immediately exempt all Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees from the hiring freeze he issued on Monday. In a letter to Trump, Blumenthal and the Senators stressed concerns about the negative impact the hiring freeze will have on the delivery of veterans' health care and benefits nationwide - if not quickly reversed.

"As written, this Memorandum could dramatically impair the ability of veterans across the country to get the care and benefits they desperately need," wrote Blumenthal and the Senators. "It could also delay or deny various other services across VA - from burial services to job training to assistance for homeless veterans to life-saving assistance from the Veterans Crisis Line. That is why it is imperative for you to provide an immediate, clear, and full exemption to this hiring freeze for VA so it can continue to deliver on its sacred mission for veterans."

The group of Democratic Senators also underscored that despite assurances of exemptions, they have heard from employees on the ground that the hiring freeze will extend to certain positions promised to be exempt: "In your Memorandum, little detail is provided to understand the scope of its exemptions. And despite assurances that VA benefits would be exempt, we have become aware the hiring freeze will extend to the Veterans Benefits Administration - a decision that will dramatically impact the processing of disability claims, growing the backlog and making it more difficultfor veterans to access their earned benefits, including those promised in the PACT Act."

The Senators pressed Trump for scaling back on VA employees, rather than continuing efforts to address chronic workforce shortages Congress has implemented over the last few years: "Instead of building upon those efforts, one of your first actions was to stop them entirely, and to issue new directives to VA personnel across the country to not only leave vacancies unaddressed, but to revoke job offers that have already been made. That is a betrayal of trust to veterans on day one of your Administration, and it is a betrayal of trust to prospective VA employees intent on serving veterans - an action that will undoubtedly have long-term impacts on VA's ability to effectively recruit and retain the physicians, nurses,and other critical positions that make VA the preferred option for care for veterans."

The letter was led by Ranking Member Blumenthal and joined by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

In addition to the Senate Democrats' letter to Trump, a group of House Democrats led by House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) are sending a letter today calling on Acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter to also exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze.

The full text of the Senators' letter is available here and below.

Dear President Trump,

We write with urgent concerns about the Presidential Memorandum issued on January 20, 2025, which instituted an immediate hiring freeze, with few exceptions, across the federal civil service. Veterans have earned and deserve the best quality health care and benefits possible. Delivering on that sacred promise starts with ensuring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has the appropriate personnel in place to serve them. As written, this Memorandum could dramatically impair the ability of veterans across the country to get the care and benefits they desperately need. It could also delay or deny various other services across VA - from burial services to job training to assistance for homeless veterans to life-saving assistance from the Veterans Crisis Line. That is why it is imperative for you to provide an immediate, clear, and full exemption to this hiring freeze for VA so it can continue to deliver on its sacred mission for veterans.

In your Memorandum, little detail is provided to understand the scope of its exemptions. And despite assurances that VA benefits would be exempt, we have become aware the hiring freeze will extend to the Veterans Benefits Administration - a decision that will dramatically impact the processing of disability claims, growing the backlog and making it more difficult for veterans to access their earned benefits, including those promised in the PACT Act. Additionally, there is no explicit exemption for employees serving the more than 9.2 million veterans enrolled in VA health care.

Veterans deserve the best care possible from the best medical professionals in the country. To deliver on that obligation, VA continues to utilize various hiring authorities and incentives provided by Congress to address chronic medical workforce shortages, particularly in rural areas. Instead of building upon those efforts, one of your first actions was to stop them entirely, and to issue new directives to VA personnel across the country to not only leave vacancies unaddressed, but to revoke job offers that have already been made. That is a betrayal of trust to veterans on day one of your Administration, and it is a betrayal of trust to prospective VA employees intent on serving veterans - an action that will undoubtedly have long-term impacts on VA's ability to effectively recruit and retain the physicians, nurses, and other critical positions that make VA the preferred option for care for veterans.

Mr. President, to prevent the delay or denial of life-saving services and benefits for our nation's heroes, we urge you to provide an immediate, clear, and full exemption to VA personnel from your hiring freeze. Thanks largely to the PACT Act and the leadership of the Biden Administration, VA is providing more care and more benefits to more veterans than at any time in its history. We are hopeful to work with you to build upon our nation's promise to these men and women, but we also vow to fight every effort that dishonors their service and reneges upon that sacred promise. <_o3a_p>

https://www.veterans.senate.gov/2025/1/blumenthal-senate-democrats-demand-trump-exempt-all-va-employees-from-hiring-freeze