Chaos and VA Care

In a new article in The Washington Monthly, VHPI Senior Policy Analyst Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early outline the grim and confusing conditions at VA under a second Trump term.

They quote one regional VA administrator who describes deep uncertainty over how to plan for the future. “Are we following Office of Management and Budget rules,” he asked. “Or the rule of law, which requires that we follow certain guidelines, for example, people with the most seniority are the last to go, employees who are veterans are the last to go, employees with high-performance ratings ditto?”

Another manager worried about who will feed hospitalized veterans and keep facilities clean if support staff are fired and not replaced. Another VA official pointed to the adverse safety impacts of haphazard cuts to VA contract. One contract covering the Togus, Maine VA Medical Center, for instance—which has since been restored following protest by U.S. Senator Angus King— supplied the center with a radiation safety officer. “How can you safely deliver radiation if you cannot monitor how much you’re giving?” an official fretted. “How stupid can you be?”

To read their full piece, click here.