January 21, 2025

Ranking Member Takano’s Statement on Executive Orders Impacting Veterans

Press Contact

Elain Shubat 

 

WASHINGTON - On Inauguration Day, President Trump issued a series of Executive Orders (EOs) impacting veterans and civil servants who are employed by and seek care at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These EOs would: 

  • Implement a hiring freeze across the federal government;  
  • Reclassify many federal employees with fewer job protections; 
  • Remove VA employees’ flexibility in remote working by mandating a return to office; and 
  • Eliminate key diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs aimed at providing more culturally competent care and more equitable hiring practices. 

Ranking Member Takano's statement on the Executive Order announcement, 

“The executive orders signed on Inauguration Day include policies that will negatively impact veterans, especially working class veterans. Veterans make up over a third of the federal workforce, and with his various EOs, President Trump threatens both their jobs and the care and benefits veterans receive at VA.

If VA freezes hiring as mandated in Trump’s EOs, veterans could face significant wait times for medical appointments and reductions in access to care and benefits. The drafters of these EOs clearly did not consider the downstream effects of a hiring freeze on the millions of veterans who rely on VA.

Trump’s EO mandating a return to office will also have a direct impact on the provision of veteran benefits due to the volume of claims processors who were hired in remote roles to implement the largest expansion of benefits eligibility in history under the Honoring Our PACT Act. Many of the dedicated, highly trained workers who answer calls to the Veterans Crisis Line may also be faced with losing their remote jobs, and veterans in need of urgent assistance will suffer. 

Under Schedule F, VA can unilaterally reclassify large numbers of employees, including veteran employees, into a new category with fewer civil service protections, making them easier to remove if they refuse to pledge political allegiance to Trump.

If confirmed, I expect that Congressman Collins will provide Congress with detailed information about how all the EOs will be implemented without harm to veterans.” 

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