[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing today to consider pending veterans’ legislation, Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) grilled Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials on VA Secretary Doug Collins’ disastrous plan to cut more than 80,000 VA employees, emphasizing their total lack of transparency and analyses to justify their decision. During the hearing, Blumenthal also announced his Putting Veterans First Act—comprehensive legislation drafted in direct response to the Administration’s egregious cuts at VA, with provisions to protect veterans, military spouses, and VA employees targeted in DOGE’s directives.

“The VA is in crisis. It is literally a five-alarm fire for the VA,” said Blumenthal in his opening. “This [legislative hearing today] constitutes rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. Literally…We are talking about rearranging chairs on the deck of a sinking ship, and it isn't an iceberg that's been hit. It is a torpedo from Secretary Collins, Donald Trump, and Elon Musk that has hit the VA and is sinking it, purposefully, relentlessly, dangerously for our veterans…Veterans have been shortchanged and systematically betrayed by these cruel cuts in staff and critical resources resulting from the Trump-Musk-Collins anti-vet policies. It’s intentional malevolence or benign neglect—either way, we need to stop it. And that should be the purpose of our hearing today. It is the purpose of the [Putting Veterans First Act] that I will introduce to stop the bleeding and sound the alarm and make sure that we preserve veterans’ benefits and care as they should be.”

During his questioning, Blumenthal pressed Trump VA political appointee Mark Engelbaum to confirm whether the Administration performed any analyses before conducting its mass terminations and hiring freeze: “You are aware that the Secretary has said that the VA is not making decisions to illegally fire—and I emphasize "illegally fire"—thousands of staff and implement an ongoing hiring freeze without proper analyses. Do you have those written analyses? Can you provide them to us? We’ve asked for them, we have received no response…[W]e want the documents. We’ve asked for the documents. You must have documents, right?” Engelbaum was unable to concretely point to any evidence or documentation the Administration used to support their plans to cut 80,000 VA employees, and would not agree to Blumenthal’s request to share any documents the Trump VA is using.

Blumenthal continued, “[I am a]sking for the analysis, the documents, the metrics, the methodology. There is no apparent methodology or metrics. It is by the seat of your pants. And it's illegal. I want to make clear, either way, I'm in favor of improving the VA. Every organization can be improved. Making it better, to quote the Chairman, has to be a common objective. But not with a chainsaw. Not with a meat axe, with a scalpel. And I see no indication that there are written documents—because we have asked for them—or analyses or metrics or methodology. Can you confirm that you have them?”

When Engelbaum replied “[w]e have just commenced our actual analysis,” Blumenthal quipped: “So, you fired 2,400 people without doing that analysis?…And you implemented a hiring freeze without any analysis?”

In response to Engelbaum’s non-answers, Blumenthal said: “None of what you have said just now is a plan. None of it is an analysis, a methodology, a metric. And that is what we are asking you to do…And yet you are firing 2,400, and you have a plan—that is the word of the Secretary—to fire at least 80,000.”

When Engelbaum did not deny this plan, Blumenthal concluded: “Well, you're going to decimate the PACT Act if you don't have the position filled for the people who process the claims. You are going to have inexcusable delays. You are engaged in indiscriminately decimating that workforce. I don't know why you needed the Restore Act if you are just willy-nilly firing people without a plan. Your approach seems to be fire them now, plan later. You have failed to provide this Committee the documents or analysis that we requested. You failed to do that analysis before you started firing people and freezing hiring and ending contracts, canceling them illegally. And I find that response unacceptable.”

The full text of Blumenthal’s Q&A is copied below and a video link is available here.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Engelbaum, can I count on you to support the protecting—Putting Veterans First Act?

Mark Engelbaum: Senator, I will be happy, once we see the legislation, to do a thorough review along with the agency. And first and foremost, as the Secretary has stated, veterans always remain at the forefront of everything we do at the VA. It is why we exist, it is why we are here, and we will look forward to looking at that legislation–

Blumenthal: Okay, can you give me your reactions by the end of the week if I get you a draft?

Engelbaum: I will definitely look at the draft, sir. I can’t guarantee by the end of the week. We will definitely comment on that, sir, and return to you–

Blumenthal: You are aware that the Secretary has said that the VA is not making decisions to illegally fire—and I emphasize "illegally fire"—thousands of staff and implement an ongoing hiring freeze without proper analyses. Do you have those written analyses? Can you provide them to us? We’ve asked for them, we have received no response.

Engelbaum: Senator, absolutely. In fact, I’ll offer today. We are in the process of doing a very thorough analysis, and Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman, I’ll be happy to come, to personally come, and brief the Committee on our planning process–

Blumenthal: Well, we want the documents. We’ve asked for the documents. You must have documents, right?

Engelbaum: Yeah. Senator, what is happening right now is that a lot of stuff and information has come out in the news with respect to a one-off, off of a news article, so for example, the VA’s cutting 70,000 –

Blumenthal: I apologize for interrupting you, but my time is limited.

Engelbaum: Yes sir.

Blumenthal: Asking for the analysis, the documents, the metrics, the methodology. There is no apparent methodology or metrics. It is by the seat of your pants. And it's illegal. I want to make clear, either way, I'm in favor of improving the VA. Every organization can be improved. Making it better, to quote the Chairman, has to be a common objective. But not with a chainsaw. Not with a meat axe, with a scalpel. And I see no indication that there are written documents—because we have asked for them—or analyses or metrics or methodology. Can you confirm that you have them?

Engelbaum: Senator, very clearly, yes. What is happening, to be clear, 70,000 or 80,000 figure you see is a planning factor. We have just commenced our actual analyses. We have an ongoing analysis that is going to take place over the next three to four months that is going to do a down to the microlevel examination of our entire structure, mission, management across the board. That analysis is ongoing, and I reiterate, sir, I will be very happy to come and brief you in detail on what the VA is doing to make sure we refocus our priorities on taking care of our veterans and righting that ship, that you rightly said before, I would say is adrift.

Blumenthal: So, you fired 2,400 people without doing that analysis?

Engelbaum: Sir, what happened is— and I cannot go into specific details because there is litigation— what happened is we released approximately 2400 folks out of 40,000 probationary employee's –

Blumenthal: And you implemented a hiring freeze without any analysis?

Engelbaum: In order to actually shape and prepare for what we need to do as an organization, we are preparing the way so that we can rightly reorganize and reform the Department as it needs to be done. We still continue to hire 300,000 critical positions that we have identified. They are on the books. We continue to do our mission and focus on taking veterans—taking care of our veterans every day.

Blumenthal: None of what you have said just now is a plan. None of it is an analysis, a methodology, a metric. And that is what we are asking you to do. Let me ask you, how many employees have been removed or resigned from the Office of General Counsel?

Engelbaum: Senator, I will have to take that for record. I don't have that number.

Blumenthal: You don't have that. How about from the Equal Employment Opportunity staff?

Engelbaum: Senator, I don't have any specific breakdown by office of specific employees. What we do have—

Blumenthal: How many employees have been removed from work on human resources?

Engelbaum: I don't have a specific breakdown by independent organizations, Senator.

Blumenthal: You have 600 to 800 exempted positions currently backlogged on OPM’s list, correct?

Engelbaum: I believe that is around 700 or so, sir, that is my understanding. I'm not sure about that.

Blumenthal: And yet you are firing 2,400, and you have a plan—that is the word of the Secretary—to fire at least 80,000.

Engelbaum: Senator, as I mentioned before, we are in the middle of a planning process. We are going to follow the science. We are going to reform this agency to make sure that it is focused on taking care of our veterans. You yourself mentioned we take a look at it. We have 470,000 employees in the Department of Veterans Affairs. We have increased over 80,000 in the last four years. We have increased our budget by 85%. PACT Act is really important, sir, we understand that, but–

Blumenthal: Well, you're going to decimate the PACT Act if you don't have the position filled for the people who process the claims. You are going to have inexcusable delays. You are engaged in indiscriminately decimating that workforce. I don't know why you needed the Restore Act if you are just willy-nilly firing people without a plan. Your approach seems to be fire them now, plan later.

Engelbaum: Sir, despite the fact that we've increased by 80,000 and our budget has increased by 85,000, our inventory backlog has increased by over, from around 275,000 to over 935,000. Our claims processing time has increased, our accuracy has decreased. So, we have hired about 48,000 employees for the PACT Act. Sitting here today, I cannot tell you exactly—in some areas we do know where they went—we don't know where all these employees are. We need to restore, you are right, accountability. We need to make sure that the employees that we hire are doing the valuable mission that they are hired to do, and part of that is putting them in those very areas that you mentioned.

Blumenthal: You have failed to provide this Committee the documents or analysis that we requested. You failed to do that analysis before you started firing people and freezing hiring and ending contracts, canceling them illegally. And I find that response unacceptable.