A group of Senate Democrats accused Secretary Doug Collins of helping with a "cover-up" as it demanded answers on the Department of Veterans Affairs' recent firings of 2,400 probationary employees.
In a letter Thursday that was addressed to Collins and President Donald Trump, the Democrats excoriated the administration for all of the firings but took particular issue with cuts at the Veterans Crisis Line, which is a key resource for veterans who may be considering suicide. While the VA has insisted no responders at the suicide prevention hotline were fired, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who organized the letter, has surfaced that at least two support staff members for the crisis line were in the first round of firings before being hired back.
"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," the senators wrote. "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."
Read Next: 83,000 VA Employees Slated to Be Fired This Year by Musk's DOGE, Memo Says
In addition to Duckworth, the letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla of California, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Tina Smith of Minnesota and Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Asked for comment about the letter, a VA spokesperson directed Military.com to an op-ed Collins wrote for news outlet The Hill and a video Collins posted to social media about separate plans for firing 83,000 VA employees later this year. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether the VA had a comment on the contents of the letter, including the accusation that Collins is helping with a cover-up.
So far, the VA has dismissed 2,400 probationary employees -- defined as those who were recently hired, transferred or promoted -- as part of the Trump administration's sweeping efforts to slash the federal government and remake it in its image. The onslaught is being led by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the White House advisory office led by billionaire Elon Musk.
The DOGE efforts are expected to get supercharged at the VA later this year with plans to fire more than 80,000 employees, bringing the department down to the level of employees it had before a massive hiring spree intended to help implement the expansion of veteran health care and benefits granted by the PACT Act.
With both the upcoming firings and the probationary firings, Collins has pledged that veterans' services would not be hurt.
"We're going to accomplish this without making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries," Collins said in a video Wednesday about the planned 83,000 job cuts.
He similarly said in a statement last month about the probationary firings that those cuts "will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries."
But in their letter Thursday, the Democratic senators contended that the cuts "have had increasingly detrimental impacts on the veteran community and continue to create capability gaps that threaten the well-being of veterans."
"The indiscriminate purge of veterans and other federal employees at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) means slower claims processing, longer wait times for veterans seeking access to their medical care, and the end of important research that benefits veterans and all Americans," they wrote. "We demand that you take accountability for these actions and share with the American people what exactly the plan is for the future of VA."
The senators demanded answers by March 12 on nearly three pages' worth of questions about the probationary firings, including a breakdown by job category of who was fired.
They also pressed for more details specifically on the firings at the Veterans Crisis Line, numbers of how many disabled veterans have been fired, and lists of services that have been canceled or delayed since the firings started.
"Support to our veterans has historically been a bipartisan issue, and we do not want this long-standing tradition to fall because of a president and his VA secretary turning their backs on our veterans due to the influence of an unelected co-president who yields illegal privilege to invoke executive authorities," the senators wrote, referencing Musk. "He fools no one with his efforts to line the pockets of the wealthy, and we will not stand by while there is an active attack against our nation's veterans."
Related: 'These Are Human Beings': VA Fires 1,400 More Employees It Considers Nonessential
