The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reported to have abruptly canceled its large-scale workforce reduction plan. Originally, the Trump administration aimed to streamline government operations drastically and planned to cut about 83,000 VA employees; however, this seems to have been withdrawn in consideration of resistance from veterans' organizations and a decrease in morale within the organization.

A rally against the reduction of the Department of Veterans Affairs is held in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

On July 7 (local time), the VA officially stated that it would not implement large-scale layoffs. The VA noted, "Approximately 30,000 staff have already been reduced in recent months due to retirements, voluntary resignations, and hiring freezes," adding, "Additional reductions have become unnecessary."

According to The Washington Post (WP), Minister Douglas Collins conveyed in an email sent to staff that, "After carefully reviewing staffing and operational methods over the past four months, we believe that the current VA is moving in the right direction." He also emphasized, "Although overall staffing has decreased, claims processing productivity has increased, and the number of beneficiaries waiting for disability compensation claims has declined," noting, "Major projects, such as electronic system modernization, are also making progress."

The VA has laid off 2,400 people just in February of this year and has aggressively reduced personnel, including allowing thousands to voluntarily leave through an early retirement program offered by the Trump administration. However, the VA emphasized that it established safeguards to prevent the staffing reduction from affecting healthcare and welfare services for veterans. Key functions were excluded from the early retirement incentives, and of the approximately 484,000 total employees, 350,000 were exempted from the hiring freeze.

This reduction policy was a core task of the 'Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)' led by Elon Musk from January to April, reflecting an administrative reform attempt in line with President Trump's agenda. However, the rapid budget cuts and reduction plans faced significant pushback from Congress, internal resistance, and legal challenges, causing many to be halted. Recently, as tensions between President Trump and Musk deepened, the influence of DOGE has significantly weakened.

There also appeared to be strong opposition from veterans' organizations and citizens. Earlier in June, thousands of veterans held protests against personnel reductions in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., with rallies continuing in hundreds of locations nationwide. Since veterans constitute a significant portion of federal public sector workers, concerns were raised that the VA's workforce cuts could lead to a loss of President Trump's core support base.

Minister Collins expressed, "I deeply appreciate the dedication of our veterans," and emphasized, "We will continue our efforts for organizational reform and modernization in the future."