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VA loses 7,500 employees in veteran-facing roles as part of workforce cuts

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is reining in its use of pay incentives to recruit and retain employees in veteran-facing health care jobs.

But the VA, as part of its plan to cut nearly 30,000 positions from its workforce by the end of this fiscal year, is seeing lower staffing levels for mission-critical positions.

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.

The VA announced this month that it plans to cut 30,000 positions through attrition, and is no longer planning on a “department-wide” reduction in force to cut more than 80,000 positions.

VA Secretary Doug Collins says the staffing cuts will not impact veteran care or benefits.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), chairwoman of the House VA Committee’s oversight subcommittee, said in a hearing Tuesday that “there’s just no possible way” the VA could lose this many employees in critical roles without it having an impact on veteran-facing services.

“How can Secretary Collins look at us and at veterans with a straight face and say that veterans care has not been affected by staffing changes, when he’s lost at least 7,500 veteran-facing employees?” Ramirez said.

The VA exempted many veteran-facing health care jobs from the deferred resignation and early retirement offers. But Sheila Elliot, a pharmacist of the Hampton, Virginia VA Medical Center and president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2328, said the VA is still losing mission-critical employees.

“When you rely on random reductions, there can be danger there you don’t know which critical and which noncritical position is going to be reduced,” Elliot said.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) said she’s pleased the VA isn’t pursuing a large-scale reduction of force, and has been reassured by VA leadership that “any early retirements will come from redundant positions and non-essential personnel.”

The VA, so far this fiscal year, has sharply rolled back its use of recruitment, retention and relocation (3R) incentives.

The department awarded 14,585 critical skills incentives in fiscal 2024, but has only granted a single CSI so far this fiscal year.

The department issued 19,484 retention incentives last year, but approved 7,485 this year — a more than 60% decrease.

The VA awarded more than 6,000 recruitment incentives last year, but issued just over 1,000 this fiscal year — more than an 80% decrease.

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 FY 2025 and 2024, and a 56% reduction in new employees starting jobs.

VA Chief Human Capital Officer Tracey Therit told lawmakers that the department can fill most vacant direct-care positions without using these incentives.

“There has to be a justification for using a recruitment or a retention incentive. In many situations… we are able to post these job announcements, get qualified candidates and bring them on without using an incentive,” Therit said.

More than 350,000 VA positions are exempt from a government-wide hiring freeze that President Donald Trump recently extended to Oct. 15. Therit said the VA is hiring several thousand VA employees each two-week pay period.

VA’s inspector general office, in a report last year, found the department improperly awarded $10.8 million in critical skills incentives (CSIs) to more than 180 executives in September 2023.

VA says more than 90% of those critical skills incentives went to eligible recipients — including police officers, housekeepers and food service workers. The department has recouped about 90% of the improperly awarded bonuses.

The watchdog office, however, continues to flag improperly awarded incentives.

A VA inspector general office report last month found that the Veterans Health Administration awarded $30,000 in relocation incentives to a VHA employee who never relocated.

Kiggans said the latest IG’s report shows that these incentives have been “paid out with very little oversight.”

“For far too long, they have been carelessly handled,” Kiggans said.

Shawn Steel, director of the human capital and operations division at the VA IG’s office, said the department “continues to experience staffing shortages for positions fundamental to the safe and effective delivery of care to veterans.”

Therit told lawmakers that while retention incentives typically last for about a year, VA employees can continue to receive recruitment and relocation incentives for up to four years — in order for the department to come up with contingency plans.

“We’re looking at somebody who’s likely to leave federal service and has a unique skill that we can’t afford to walk out the door, and we need a short period of time to put that succession plan in place, to either develop someone with those skills to step in when they depart, or to be able to recruit somebody before they leave,” Therit said.

Therit said these incentives can help the VA make more competitive job offers to candidates in certain specialty areas. Pay caps for health care professionals at VA, she added, “have not kept pace with rising salaries for health care professionals and specialists.”

“While the 3R incentive program is an important tool for the department in attracting and retaining talent, it is not enough for the VA to remain competitive with industry,” she said.

Kiggans added that “these bonuses, when used correctly, enable the VA to pay attractive salaries to valuable clinical staff and other VA employees who serve our veterans.”

“These incentive payments should go to staff dedicated to providing world-class care for our veterans. When the VA cannot retain its good employees or recruit talented staff, patient care is the first to suffer.”

Elliot said incentives are needed to staff up the North Battlefield Outpatient Clinic in Chesapeake, Virginia, that opened in April.

Elliot said the facility opened with about 27% of its staffing goal this spring, and is struggling to compete with the private sector for health care candidates.

“We urge the VA to use these bonuses and other tools to increase capacity at the clinic,”  she said.

The clinic opened in April with 150 staff and core services, including primary care, mental health and pharmacy. This month, the clinic added dental and additional mental health services. By January 2026, the facility is scheduled to be fully operational with radiology, optometry, telehealth and other services.

Elliot said a VA psychologist at the North Battlefield Outpatient Clinic left after receiving a better offer in the private sector.

“With no relocation bonus offered, that psychologist was able to get a relocation bonus from someplace else, and that’s where that psychologist is going,” Elliot said.

The post VA loses 7,500 employees in veteran-facing roles as part of workforce cuts first appeared on Federal News Network.

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GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess

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23 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R‑SD) has unveiled a procedural scheme to block President Donald Trump from making any critical appointments during the August recess, effectively aiding the Democrats’ obstructionist agenda.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can make “recess appointments,” temporary appointments to federal positions, if the Senate is in recess and not conducting business. These appointments don’t require immediate Senate confirmation and can last until the end of the next session of Congress.

But there’s a loophole: if the Senate holds pro forma sessions, very short, symbolic meetings where no actual business is conducted, then technically, the Senate is still in session. That means the president cannot legally make recess appointments during that time.

John Thune has quietly secured unanimous‑consent for a paper‑thin Senate schedule through the Trump appointee confirmation deadline, ensuring only pro forma sessions on five key dates in early August.

Under the agreement, the chamber will adjourn after today’s business and reconvene without conducting any votes or business on:

  • Tue, Aug 5 – 1:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 8 – 1:05 p.m.
  • Tue, Aug 12 – 8:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 15 – 10:15 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 19 – 10:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 22 – 9:00 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 26 – 12:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 29 – 7:00 a.m.

WATCH:

Thune’s pro forma blueprint comes amid mounting pressure from Donald Trump, who has demanded the Senate remain open until all 150+ administration nominees are confirmed.

Under the Recess Appointments Clause, a president may only install nominees without Senate approval if both chambers are in formal recess for at least 10 days. By convening the Senate just long enough every few days, Thune blocks the possibility of Trump making unilateral appointees.

The Senate went into its August recess without confirming all of Trump’s pending judicial and district‑level appointments.

By the time lawmakers left town on Saturday evening, no deal had been reached to move dozens of Trump’s nominees, including U.S. district court picks, through final floor votes.

Only a small handful of nominees (such as Jeanine Pirro to be U.S. Attorney in D.C.) had advanced. Otherwise, nominees remained stalled in committees or waiting for cloture roll‑calls on the executive calendar.

Roughly 150–160 executive and judicial nominations, including over a dozen district court judges and U.S. attorney nominations, remained scheduled but unconfirmed.

The post GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road

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23 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that there have been about 1,500 truck drivers who do not speak English taken off the roads as part of a push to ensure foreign truck drivers are not causing accidents.

Back in 2016, the Obama administration stopped enforcing English proficiency requirements for truckers, according to a report from The Daily Signal.

But in May, Duffy issued a guidance making clear that truck drivers who cannot demonstrate a proficiency in English cannot drive.

The 1,500 drivers were taken off the roads within the first 3o days of the rules once more being enforced, according to The Daily Signal.

“Since I took action to enforce language proficiency requirements for truckers, our state partners have put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service. That’s what I call results!” Duffy posted on X.

“If you can’t read or speak our national language — ENGLISH — we won’t let your truck endanger the driving public.”

He added, “America First = Safety First.”

Duffy’s concerns were far from unfounded.

In January, there was a truck driver involved in a fatal crash that had to use a language interpreter for the post-crash investigation, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Another incident from 2019 involved a truck driver who could not proficiently speak English speeding through signs that warned of steep grades and dangerous curves, all at more than 100 miles per hour.

Four people died in that crash, per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

President Donald Trump had likewise insisted with an April executive order that the move centered on public safety.

“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the order said of truck drivers.

They also “need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English,” a position the order called “common sense.”

“It is the policy of my Administration to support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers,” the notice added.

“This order will help ensure a safe, secure, and efficient motor carrier industry.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post ‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict

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23 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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via Wikimedia Commons

Slovenia has imposed an arms embargo on Israel, banning the export, import, and transit of weapons to and from the country.

This decision was announced by Prime Minister Robert Golob following a government session on July 31, 2025.

Slovenia claims to be the first European Union member to take such a step, citing the EU’s inability to act due to internal disagreements.

The government stated that no permits for military exports to Israel have been issued since October 2023, when the conflict in Gaza began.

Officials emphasized that the embargo is an independent measure to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Slovenia has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and increased aid deliveries to the region.

In early July 2025, Slovenia declared two Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, persona non grata, barring them from entry.

This action was based on their public statements regarding the conflict. Earlier, in June 2024, Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood, joining countries like Ireland, Norway, and Spain in this move.

The conflict in Gaza started after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israeli territory, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the taking of hostages.

Israel responded with a military operation aimed at dismantling Hamas infrastructure. Reports from Gaza’s health ministry indicate significant casualties, with ongoing international efforts to negotiate truces and provide aid.

Several other nations have taken similar diplomatic steps, including France, Britain, and Canada announcing potential recognition of a Palestinian state. Australia has also indicated that recognizing Palestinian statehood is under consideration.

Israel has criticized these declarations, arguing they could reward Hamas for its actions.

Israeli officials dismissed Slovenia’s embargo as insignificant, noting that Israel does not procure any defense materials from Slovenia.

An unnamed official stated that the country buys nothing from Slovenia, not even minor items.

Within the EU, there is growing pressure for measures against Israel, with Sweden and the Netherlands advocating for suspending parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

The European Commission has proposed limiting Israel’s participation in the Horizon research program, though Germany opposes such steps.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed concerns about Israel’s potential diplomatic isolation during a visit to Jerusalem.

The United States remains a key ally to Israel, with President Donald Trump warning that recognizing Palestinian statehood might benefit Hamas.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance Gaza truce talks. These efforts aim to address the humanitarian crisis and secure a ceasefire.

The post Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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