More government workers are coming forward to issue a warning about the Trump administration\u2019s ruthless policies and their potentially disastrous outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, former and current medical personnel at the Department of Veterans Affairs are calling out imminent cuts to staffing <\/a>and services for those who have served the nation.<\/p>\n Over 100 professionals signed a letter that was sent to members of Congress, VA Secretary Doug Collins, and the agency\u2019s inspector general.<\/p>\n “We write to raise urgent concerns about proposed policies which, in addition to ones already enacted, will undermine VA\u2019s healthcare system, overwhelm VA\u2019s budget, and negatively affect the lives of all veterans,” the letter states.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n The signees\u2014who consist of approximately 170 physicians, psychologists, and other health workers\u2014warn that should the administration\u2019s plans to cut staffing and keep outsourcing care come to fruition, veterans\u2019 hospitals could shutter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related |\u00a0Veterans Affairs chief looks to slash agency\u2014even if veterans suffer<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf this trend continues, VHA facilities may be forced to close, and veterans may beforced into costlier, often overburdened community health systems ill-equippedto meet their specialized needs,\u201d they wrote, adding, \u201cAs healthcare costs increase, veterans\u2019 benefits will be jeopardized.\u201d<\/p>\n By speaking out, these care workers are risking the wrath of Trump and his minions, who have\u00a0plucked out and punished employees for critiquing other government agencies.<\/p>\n At the Environmental Protection Agency, staffers have been fired and suspended in two different instances for raising concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n In July, the administration placed roughly 140 EPA employees on administrative leave<\/a> when they called out staffing cuts and the impact that Secretary Lee Zeldin\u2019s anti-regulatory moves would have on the environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n And on Sept. 5, the EPA came for more of its employees who signed a letter of dissent, suspending them without pay.<\/a><\/p>\n Other government workers are under the weight of the administration as well. At the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Trump\u2019s team has floated abolishing altogether,<\/a> employees who shared concerns were placed on leave in August and later asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.<\/a><\/p>\n Even the Health and Human Services Department received pleas from workers who urged Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to resign<\/a> in the wake of a violent, targeted attack<\/a> at the Centers for Disease Control and his ongoing efforts to discredit modern medicine.<\/a><\/p>\n Related |\u00a0RFK Jr. continues quest to Make America Sick Again, vaccines edition<\/a><\/p>\n Similarly, scientists at the National Institutes of Health wrote a letter in June<\/a> ahead of ongoing budget cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n “[W]e dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe,” the letter reads.<\/a> “We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety and faithful stewardship of public resources.”<\/p>\n Three months later, though, the harm those scientists warned about is happening in real time.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to what is happening at the VA, Kennedy and his appointed advisers overseeing vaccine policy removed recommendations for immunizations like the COVID-19 vaccine.\u00a0<\/p>\n