Senate Democrat will block Trump’s VA nominees to protest cuts

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) says he will put a hold on President Trump’s nominees to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to protest cuts at the agency that provides lifelong health care services to military veterans.

“Talking to veterans, people that I served with as well as seeing some of what’s happening in Arizona, I decided that whatever tool I have to fix the situation, I’m going to use it. And this is one of the few tools I have at this point,” Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran, told The Associated Press.

There is one nominee to the Department of Veterans Affairs on the Senate’s executive calendar: Richard Topping, who is picked to serve as the VA’s chief financial officer.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the department is planning to cut more than 80,000 jobs to return to its prepandemic staffing level of less than 400,000 employees.

The Trump administration fired 2,400 probationary employees at the VA last month.

Thirteen positions at the department require Senate confirmation to be filled on a long-term basis.

Gallego is a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

In a statement, VA Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz noted that health care at the VA has been on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list for more than a decade.

“Imagine how much better off Veterans would be if lawmakers like Sen. Gallego cared as much about fixing VA as they do about protecting the department’s broken bureaucracy,” Kasperowicz wrote.

He noted that GAO has found the VA faces “system-wide challenges in overseeing patient safety and access to care, hiring critical staff, and meeting future infrastructure needs.”

“Under Secretary Collins, VA is working hard to fix these and other issues. Unfortunately, many in the media, government union bosses and some in Congress are fighting to keep in place the broken status quo. Our message to Veterans is simple: Despite major opposition from those who don’t want to change a thing at VA, we will reform the department to make it work better for Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors.”

This story was updated at 11:02 a.m.