President Trump’s U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins said he plans to cut nearly 80,000 jobs in the agency — about 15 percent of the workforce — and has accused Virginia Democrats Senator Tim Kaine and Congressman Bobby Scott of lying to veterans specifically about the VA’s new clinic, North Battlefield Outpatient Clinic in Chesapeake, Virginia not being fully staffed. Kaine and Scott said only 150 employees — out of the 550 allowed — will be in place when the clinic opens.
Scott criticized DOGE and Elon Musk of “coming in and just firing people randomly, which has made it extremely difficult for people to provide care for our veterans.”
Note: Collins confirmed that when the clinic opens on April 15 it will open with about 150 people “at the first stage.” He promised that “it will ramp up when the demand increases and more services are offered” and “will be fully staffed” by January. (He did not qualify “fully staffed” with a number.)
Secretary Collins accused us of lying when we said the Chesapeake VA clinic will open with a fraction of the staff needed.
He then admitted the Chesapeake VA clinic will open with a fraction of the staff needed.
The Trump Administration’s creation of chaos and confusion has… https://t.co/ySrUb5M9Zx
— Rep. Bobby Scott (@BobbyScott) March 26, 2025
On the Fox News on Thursday, Collins also accused Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut of “scaring my veterans” with his “very one sided opinion” of Collins’s changes at VA Affairs.
As seen below on the Senate floor, Blumenthal said: “We are in a moment of crisis for our veterans…at a time when Elon Musk and Donald Trump are slashing and trashing our Veterans Administration with real life impacts on the health care and disability benefits that are afforded to our nation’s heroes.”
The Senator added that “these heartbreaking and heartless cuts will destroy lives and livelihoods” and criticized Musk, Trump and Collins for “prioritizing a fire first, analyze later mindset and strategy at the expense of the very people they’re supposed to serve.”
It’s a disgrace.
It’s shameful.
It’s unacceptable.We are in a moment of crisis for our veterans. Musk is slashing & trashing our VA with huge, real life impacts on vets’ health care & disability benefits.
Congress must muster the fortitude to call it out & call it off. pic.twitter.com/eO6CCV5E8f
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) March 27, 2025
Collins responded to Blumenthal’s comments: “You’re scaring veterans and you’re scaring veteran employees.” The Secretary defended the VA spending cuts by saying “we’re not the only ones” making cuts and referred to President Trump ordering cuts across many other federal agencies.
Collins added, “It’s easy to pick on the VA, it’s easy to accuse us of a whipping post for all your issues.”
On Fox News, Collins, who promised to carry out the spending cuts in “a methodical way,” was asked how he plans to cut 80,000 employees and ensure that veterans’ benefits and care won’t be compromised.
Collins noted “an influx of middle management” in the agency and said: “There are tens of thousands of people who do not directly affect patient care” and claimed “there are doctors and nurses not working with patients but working with paper work far removed from the hospital setting.”
He said in payroll and finance “we are duplicating services,” and voiced his disapproval of the agency using “50 or 60” agencies to handle payroll rather than streamline payroll into one agency.