Trump finds a ‘heartless and dangerous’ new way to screw over veterans

President Donald Trump is once again targeting the very veterans he claims to love—this time by reportedly gutting the Department of Veterans Affairs call centers and replacing human staff with automation.

According to CNN, which cited multiple sources familiar with the planned cuts, the agency is moving to automated systems, drastically reducing the need for live agents.

“This is heartless and dangerous,” one Democratic congressional staffer told CNN after being briefed by VA officials on the layoffs. “Veterans in need of life-saving care and compassion should be met with a person who understands their needs and can provide them the information and resources they seek, not a lifeless machine.”

Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been on a warpath to gut federal agencies, and veterans are among the first casualties. Earlier this month, Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense announced sweeping layoffs of civilian workers—many of whom are veterans. 

Now, CNN reports that Trump’s VA purge is just the beginning of a broader plan to eliminate as many as 83,000 jobs—or 20% of the agency’s workforce.

Among the first on the chopping block? Billing specialists, policy analysts, and medical appointment managers—people who handle the day-to-day operations that keep the VA running. But it won’t stop there. Sources inside the agency and on Capitol Hill say the cuts will also slash health care support staff, human resources personnel, and regional and central office workers.

“This is exceptionally short-sighted,” one congressional staffer told CNN, pointing out that the VA’s HR offices are already struggling to keep up. “HR doesn’t just hire people—it handles firings, promotions, disciplinary actions, employee benefits, retirement, and more. Gutting that department will throw everything into chaos.”

That’s the real danger here. The VA is already infamous for long wait times, and overburdened staff. By gutting the agency from within, Trump is setting the stage for widespread dysfunction—fueling the very failures he and his allies will later use as justification for privatizing the VA altogether.

VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz attempted to downplay the cuts to CNN, insisting that no final decisions had been made.

“As part of this process, we’ve asked career subject-matter expert employees and senior executives for recommendations on how to improve care and benefits for Veterans without cutting care and benefits for Veterans,” Kasperowicz said. “The end result of our reforms will be maintaining and expanding VA’s mission-essential jobs like doctors, nurses, and claims processors while phasing out non-mission essential roles like interior designers and DEI officers.”

But Capitol Hill staffers familiar with VA operations told CNN that layoffs have already begun. Among the first to go: supply clerks at VA medical facilities and staff responsible for restocking surgical supplies—leaving nurses and other medical staff even more overwhelmed.

Sources say the layoffs will roll out in waves over the next few months, with affected employees notified in June. The first round is set for July, followed by a second wave in September. Some employees will be reassigned, while others will receive assistance in finding new federal jobs. But that’s little comfort for those left scrambling.

Veterans are already speaking out, and advocacy groups are raising alarms over the devastating fallout these cuts will cause. But don’t expect much sympathy from Trump’s inner circle. Alina Habba, the newly appointed interim U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, gave a rambling, dismissive response earlier this month—suggesting that affected veterans deserved what they got.