Kelly, Colleagues Demand Answers from Trump and VA Secretary Collins on Indiscriminate Firing of Veterans and VA Employees, Including Veterans Crisis Line Staff

Today, Navy combat veteran and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly joined Democratic colleagues in demanding answers from President Donald Trump and Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins on their indiscriminate purge of Veterans and VA employees, including staff who help operate the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), under the direction of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.  

Veterans make up more than 30 percent of the federal workforce and it is estimated that the Trump Administration has already fired more than 6,000 men and women who have served in uniform. The Senators are calling on Trump and Secretary Collins to immediately outline how many Veterans and VA employees have been fired since the start of this Administration and to tell the truth about how the VCL has been impacted by these terminations.  

In their letter, the lawmakers slammed Trump and Secretary Collins for smearing those who help prevent Veteran suicide as supposedly “non-essential” employees: “Claiming that only those who answer the phones at VCL are essential is an insult to the service and commitment to Veterans of the many dedicated employees who ensure that someone is ready to listen and help in a moment of crisis. We are shocked that Secretary Collins, who claimed that one of his top priorities as VA Secretary would be to address Veteran suicide, would participate in such a cynical cover-up for the Trump administration’s error—not only by going along with the lies, but also justifying them.”  

After the VA refused to be transparent about the layoffs, Kelly and his colleagues are demanding a list of public answers detailing the specific job categories that were impacted, how many of those fired were Veterans and more. The lawmakers are also asking how many VCL employees were terminated as part of each VA purge last month, the specific jobs they held at VCL, whether they’ve been reinstated at this time and if not, why. The lawmakers are requesting answers to these questions by no later than March 12, 2025. 

The lawmakers concluded: “Our Veterans deserve honest and transparent answers. As a reminder, the American public elected President Trump into office to represent their best interests, and the actions of the VA Secretary are a direct reflection of President Trump’s leadership and priorities. Our Veterans’ interests should always come before any selfish agenda, and actions that impact their access to care and benefits should require immense scrutiny prior to implementation. We believe this close review has not been conducted, as evidenced by the VA’s scramble to rehire mission-critical positions such as VCL employees.” 

Along with Kelly, the letter was signed by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).  

The full text of the letter is available here.