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Here’s how VA envisioned cutting 83,000 employees before scrapping its plans

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2 months ago

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is walking away from plans to cut 83,000 employees through “department-wide” layoffs.

Documents and data obtained by Federal News Network, however, show how department officials planned to reach their workforce reduction goals, before scrapping the proposal.

VA’s former workforce reduction plan considered cutting 20,000 clinical staff from the Veterans Health Administration, including nurses and other frontline medical staff.

In recent months, VA Secretary Doug Collins repeatedly told lawmakers during committee hearings that personnel cuts would have no impact on the department’s delivery of health care and benefits to veterans.

“We’re going to maintain VA’s mission-essential jobs, like doctors, nurses, claims processors, while phasing out nonessential roles, like interior designers and other things — DEI,” Collins told the Senate VA Committee in May. “This is savings we can achieve that will be redirected to veteran healthcare and benefits.”

The VA planned to cut 5% of clinical roles across the VHA, largely through attrition, saving the department about $2 billion annually. The department also proposed closing “underused” medical facilities and “consolidating low-demand clinics.”

Internal documents show the VA envisioned cutting VHA’s overall headcount by nearly 33,000 positions — nearly 8% fewer employees than it had in September 2024.

For remaining staff to continue treating patients, VA proposed “modestly” increasing the patients-per-provider ratio, and shifting more appointments to community care and telehealth.

VHA’s non-clinical workforce would have seen the largest personnel cut under this plan. VA officials proposed cutting  3,000 human resources and finance positions, and reducing positions for maintenance staff, police officers and other support officials.

The Veterans Benefits Administration would’ve also shed about 7,000 under this plan. The department proposed further automation of claims processing and expected a “post-PACT Act” surge in claims to recede. The remaining VBA staff would focus on “critical claims.”

chart visualization

The department also envisioned cutting about 250 jobs from the National Cemetery Administration. Under this earlier plan, the VA considered contracting out some services, and adjusting staff at “lower-volume cemeteries.”

The VA estimates that its previous goal of eliminating 83,000 positions would’ve saved the department $8.3 billion in annual costs.

The VA recently announced that it is no longer planning on a department-wide RIF that would have occurred this month.  Instead, the department expects to eliminate 30,000 positions by the end of fiscal 2025, largely through attrition.

The VA says it’s shed about 17,000 positions between January and June. Those cuts happened through attrition under a governmentwide hiring freeze, the deferred resignation program and retirements. Between now and Sept. 30, the department expects nearly another 12,000 VA employees will leave through “normal attrition,” voluntary early retirement offers and deferred resignation offers — “eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force.”

“VA has multiple safeguards in place to ensure these staff reductions do not impact veteran care or benefits,” the department wrote in a press release on July 7.

Some employees, however, remain wary. A VA employee told Federal News Network that the department’s announcement “leaves the door wide open for a RIF in certain areas,” such as VA’s Central Office (VACO) or regional Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISNs).

The latest VA data shows that about 7,500 employees in veteran-facing jobs have left the department so far this fiscal year. That includes a net loss of 1,720 registered nurses, nearly 1,150 medical support assistants, more than 600 physicians, nearly 200 police officers, nearly 80 psychologists and nearly 1,100 veteran claim examiners.

VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz said the net loss of 7,500 employees in veteran-facing jobs so far this fiscal year is the result of attrition, and that the department expects to rehire for these roles.

The VA is also bringing fewer employees on board. The latest VA data shows the department is seeing a 45% decrease in job applications submitted between fiscal 2025 and 2024, and a 56% reduction in new employees starting jobs.

Other internal VA documents previously reported on by Federal News Network show senior department officials, up until recently, were weighing the pros and cons of more significant workforce cuts. “

“Reorganization Implementation Cell” documents briefly available on the VA’s internal SharePoint site show that the VA, between April and June, still considered more aggressive staffing cuts.

One document, dated April 18, shows senior VA officials considered shrinking the number of VISNs from 18 to 10. In these preliminary planning documents, VA officials planned to consolidate as many as three VISNs into one.

According to the internal documents, VA senior officials said in April that a 15% workforce cut from VHA’s Central Office and VISNs meant the department would still have to cut 55,000 positions from the “field,” in order to meet departmentwide goals.

According to those internal documents, a senior VA official said he “does not know how it doesn’t affect veterans care,” if the VA followed through with cutting 55,000 field positions.

In June, the VA paid the Office of Personnel Management more than $726,000 to help oversee its reduction-in-force and reorganization plans.

According to an interagency agreement, VA said it was seeking OPM’s assistance because the VA “has never undertaken such a large restructuring, and does not have the capabilities, expertise or the internal resources to fulfill the requirement.”

The post Here’s how VA envisioned cutting 83,000 employees before scrapping its plans first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Politics

Black Lives Matter Activist in Boston Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud Charges – Scammed Donors to Fund Her Lifestyle

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22 hours ago

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September 24, 2025

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Screencap of YouTube video.

A Black Lives Matter activist in Boston named Monica Cannon-Grant pleaded guilty to federal charges this week, admitting that she scammed donors and used their money to fund her own lavish lifestyle.

Cannon-Grant was previously held up as an admired figure. The city of Boston named her the Bostonian of the year at one point for her ‘social justice activism’ and she was even recognized by the Boston Celtics basketball team for her efforts.

She is now facing a minimum of two years in prison.

The New York Post reports:

BLM-linked activist admits conning donors to fund her lavish lifestyle

A once-celebrated Boston social activist has pleaded guilty to defrauding donors — including Black Lives Matter — out of thousands of dollars that she used as a personal piggy bank.

Monica Cannon-Grant, 44, pleaded guilty Monday to 18 counts of fraud-related crimes that she committed with her late husband while operating their Violence in Boston (VIB) activists group, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.

The activist scammed money — including $3,000 from a BLM group — while claiming it was to help feed children and run protests like one in 2020 over the murder of George Floyd and police violence.

Cannon-Grant also conned her way into getting $100,000 in federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits — which she used to pay off her personal auto loan and car insurance policy.

But she has now confessed to transferring funds to personal bank accounts to pay for rent, shopping sprees, delivery meals, visits to a nail salon — and even a summer vacation to Maryland.

Just amazing.

Here’s a local video report:

She should pay back every penny.

The post Black Lives Matter Activist in Boston Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud Charges – Scammed Donors to Fund Her Lifestyle appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Keith Olbermann Backpedals Furiously With Apology for Threatening CNN’s Scott Jennings – Jennings Responds (VIDEO)

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22 hours ago

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September 24, 2025

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As the Gateway Pundit reported yesterday, former MSNBC host and generally unhinged leftist Keith Olbermann, appeared to threaten CNN’s conservative pundit Scott Jennings on Twitter saying, ‘You’re next motherf**ker.’

Well, Olbermann may have gotten a phone call or a visit from the FBI because today he walked back those comments with a full-throated apology.

RedState has an update:

To quickly recap, Scott Jennings, a Salem Media Network radio host and conservative CNN political commentator, reacted to breaking news on Monday that Kimmel had been reinstated by tweeting, “So basically his employer suspended him for being an insensitive pr**k, and we don’t live in an authoritarian regime? Got it.”

This enraged Olbermann, who proceeded to tweet what many, including Jennings, perceived to be a threat. “You’re next, motherf**ker. But keep mugging to the camera.” Jennings tagged Patel and included a screengrab of the tweets in response.

Though the FBI hasn’t commented as to whether an investigation was launched, Olbermann ostensibly appears to have thought twice about what he tweeted and deleted, apologizing profusely in tweets posted on Tuesday and claiming what he wrote was “misinterpreted”:

See Olbermann’s tweet below:

Scott Jennings, always a class act, offered this hilarious response:

Keith Olbermann really needs help. The guy is just so out of control.

The post Keith Olbermann Backpedals Furiously With Apology for Threatening CNN’s Scott Jennings – Jennings Responds (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Where is Lance Twiggs? Kirk Assassin’s Transgender Lover Has Vanished

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22 hours ago

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September 24, 2025

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Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson and roommate Lance Twiggs

Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson lived with his transgender partner – a male-to-female trans named Lance “Luna” Twiggs.

The FBI used Robinson’s texts with his transgender partner to solidify that Robinson was the assassin. Lance Twiggs has not been charged with any crime; however, federal authorities are still investigating.

Last week, Utah authorities released the text exchange between Tyler Robinson and his transgender lover, Lance Twiggs, sent shortly after Kirk’s assassination.

Utah County District Attorney Jeff Gray announced seven charges against Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson. They will also be seeking the death penalty.

Robinson was charged with:

– Count 1: Aggravated murder (capital offense)
– Count 2: Felony reckless discharge of a firearm causing bodily injury
– Count 3: Felony obstruction of justice for hiding the firearm
– Count 4: Felony obstruction of justice for discarding the clothing he wore during the shooting
– Count 5: Witness tampering for asking roommate to delete incriminating messages
– Count 6: Witness temperating for demanding trans roommate stay silent, and not speak to police
– Count 7: Commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child

Jeff Gray released the chilling texts between Tyler Robinson and his “love” Lance Twiggs.

Read the text exchange here:

Tyler Robinson texts with transgender lover Lance Twiggs / 1
Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson texts with transgender lover Lance Twiggs / 2

Lance Twiggs was reportedly cooperating with the FBI, however, according to the Daily Mail he has seemingly vanished.

“If [Lance Twiggs] ever comes back, it will be in a body bag,” a neighbor said to the Daily Mail. “That’s not a threat – I’m just saying that there are so many people who want a piece of him he’d be mad to show his face in public again. This was a generational event.”

The Daily Mail reported:

The Trans boyfriend of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin has fled their former lovenest – and locals tell the Daily Mail they never want to see him again.

Lance Twiggs, 22, was led away for questioning when police swooped on the smart three-bed condo he shared with accused gunman Tyler Robinson, 22.

Shaken neighbors say the part time plumber has not been back to the $320,000 property in St. George, Utah – one declaring: ‘Good riddance. I never want to see either of them again.’

His beaten-up Infinity compact is still parked in his space with his work gear tossed across the back seat and a sandwich wrapper and a drink on the front passenger seat.

Upstairs lights have been left on for more than a week and notes and Amazon packages are piling up outside the home owned by Twiggs’s devout Mormon family.

The post Where is Lance Twiggs? Kirk Assassin’s Transgender Lover Has Vanished appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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