The Trump administration plans to cut upwards of 80,000 jobs within the Department of Veterans Affairs as it seeks to downsize the federal government.
Many of those jobs are held by veterans who spent years protecting the country. Amid concerns about veterans losing their jobs, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said on Monday that the cuts will be made in a "deliberative way."
However, in an interview with Scripps News, former Democratic Congressman Max Rose called the plan "disastrous."
"The thing with the VA that everyone has to understand is that there's no such thing as a non-essential employee," said Rose, who now serves as a senior adviser for VoteVets, a veterans advocacy group." "First, at the front desk, the person working care coordination, the person cleaning the hallways, the medical technician, the people supporting surgeries — they all are part of what makes this institution so amazing."
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Rose believes that there are inefficiencies within the VA, but he claims that the cuts being proposed by the Trump administration aren't solely targeted at fixing those inefficiencies
"There are consultants where the only thing they do is take minutes during executive meetings. I'll be the first one to raise my hand to support those entities being fired or let go," Rose said.
He added, "I believe in my heart of hearts, the veterans across America are not beholden to any political party, are not fully owned subsidiaries of any political party and they will hold Donald Trump accountable for this."
Watch Scripps News' full interview with Rose in the video above.
