In what can only be described as a middle finger to America's veterans (How many veterans voted for this smelly dick cheese again?), the Trump administration has unveiled plans for a staggering workforce reduction at the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to an internal memo dated March 4 obtained by CNN, Trump's team is gearing up to slash a whopping 70,000 jobs from the VA—a move that would devastate services for the men and women who served our country and throw the federal jobs market into chaos.

Let's be fucking clear about what this means: the administration is planning to boot roughly 15% of the VA's workforce to the curb. That's not a haircut; it's a goddamn decapitation of an agency that millions of veterans depend on for their healthcare and benefits.

The memo outlines a plan to dial back the VA to 2019 staffing levels—approximately 400,000 employees compared to the current 470,000. This isn't just a minor adjustment; it's a wholesale dismantling of progress made during the Biden years, particularly advancements connected to the PACT Act of 2022, which finally—FINALLY—extended coverage to veterans poisoned by toxic burn pits during their service.

What's even more insulting is that this hatchet job is being orchestrated with the ironically named Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Yes, that's right—Trump named a federal agency after a cryptocurrency meme. And now this joke of a department is helping decimate the VA's ability to serve veterans.

The clock is already ticking. VA administration and staff offices must gather information and report to the Office of Personnel Management by April 14. That's just weeks away. The speed at which they're moving should terrify anyone who cares about government functioning properly—or at all.

This isn't happening in isolation. The Trump administration is taking a chainsaw to the federal workforce across the board. The Defense Department is planning to cut 5-8% of its civilian workforce. Other agencies are facing similar bloodbaths.

There's a method to this madness. It's part of the administration's broader strategy to hollow out government from within—to render it so ineffective that privatization seems like the only option. It's the same playbook they ran during Trump's first term, but now they're not even pretending to be subtle about it.

And let's not forget that this is happening while Trump's cronies push for a trillion-dollar tax cut for the ultra-wealthy. They can't find money to help veterans, but there's plenty to line the pockets of billionaires. It's sick, twisted, and entirely on brand.

How will this affect unemployment numbers? It's going to be a shitstorm.

Dumping 70,000 federal employees into the job market all at once will send shockwaves through the economy. These aren't just any jobs—they're stable, middle-class positions with benefits. Many of these employees are veterans themselves, hired through veteran preference programs. So the very people who served our country will now be scrambling to find work.

The current unemployment rate hovers around 4.1%. Analysts estimate that a mass layoff of this scale could bump that number up by at least 0.1 percentage point nationwide. But in areas with high concentrations of VA facilities—places like Richmond, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Antonio, Texas—the impact could be devastating, potentially raising local unemployment rates by several percentage points.

And that's just the direct effect. When you consider the ripple effects—the reduced consumer spending, the strain on local businesses, the potential foreclosures and bankruptcies—the damage multiplies. Each job at the VA supports additional jobs in the community. When those VA jobs disappear, so do others.

Many of these employees also have specialized healthcare skills. While there's a national shortage of healthcare workers, the reality is that the private sector can't or won't absorb all these professionals overnight. Some will face months or even years of unemployment or underemployment.

The timing couldn't be worse for the March federal jobs report. If these cuts begin implementation in April, the uncertainty and initial layoffs will cast a dark shadow over the March numbers.

Economists are already scaling back their projections for March job growth, anticipating that federal employees will reduce spending and employers will put hiring plans on hold in regions heavily dependent on VA facilities. The mere announcement of these cuts will create a chilling effect that will be reflected in the data.

The jobs report will likely show weird, unexpected contractions in healthcare-adjacent sectors as companies freeze hiring in anticipation of a flooded market of job-seeking VA employees. We might see hiring slowdowns in everything from medical equipment suppliers to pharmacies to educational institutions that train healthcare workers.

Wall Street is watching, too. Market analysts are predicting increased volatility as investors try to gauge the wider economic impact. Several major investment banks have already issued guidance suggesting that clients reduce exposure to sectors dependent on government healthcare spending.

And here's the kicker: if the jobs report tanks, the Trump administration will undoubtedly blame it on "inherited problems" from the Biden years, rather than acknowledging that their own sledgehammer approach to governance is causing the damage.

But the most damning impact will be on the VA itself and the veterans it serves. Let's break down what these cuts will actually mean for veterans trying to access care and benefits:

Remember the VA wait time scandals of the past? We're about to see them return with a vengeance. With 15% fewer staff handling the same number of veterans—actually, an INCREASING number of veterans as more become eligible under the PACT Act—wait times for appointments will skyrocket. Veterans with cancer, PTSD, and other serious conditions will be forced to wait months for treatment that they need immediately.

The VA was already struggling to process benefits claims in a timely manner. Now imagine what happens when you remove thousands of claims processors from the equation. Veterans waiting for disability determinations might now face years—not months—of delays. That means years without the financial support they earned through their service.

When healthcare facilities are understaffed, the quality of care inevitably suffers. Overworked nurses and doctors make more mistakes. Patient monitoring becomes less frequent. Preventative care gets pushed aside in favor of only addressing the most acute issues. Veterans will receive worse care across the board.

VA facilities in rural areas, already operating on thin margins with minimal staff, may be forced to close entirely. For veterans in these regions, that could mean driving hundreds of miles to reach the nearest VA hospital or clinic. Many simply won't be able to make that journey, effectively cutting them off from the care they're entitled to.

Perhaps most alarming is what this means for veterans' mental health services. With approximately 17 veterans dying by suicide each day, the VA's mental health programs are literally life-saving. Cutting staff in these departments will directly result in more veteran deaths. There's no softer way to put it.

The PACT Act was a landmark achievement that finally acknowledged the government's responsibility to care for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins. Much of the VA's recent hiring was specifically to implement this program. Cutting back to 2019 staffing levels effectively guts the PACT Act without having to officially repeal it—a backdoor way to renege on promises made to toxic-exposed veterans.

The VA runs crucial training programs for healthcare professionals specializing in veteran care. These programs will likely be among the first casualties of the cuts, creating a long-term shortage of providers who understand the unique needs of veterans.

What makes this entire situation so fucking infuriating is the hypocrisy. Trump campaigned on being the best president for veterans. He repeatedly promised to fix the VA and ensure veterans received the care they deserve. Now, less than two months into his second term, he's gutting the very department responsible for that care.

Let's call this what it is: a betrayal. A betrayal of every promise made to veterans. A betrayal of the idea that service to country should be rewarded with care and support. A betrayal of the basic concept that a government should, at minimum, uphold its obligations to those who sacrificed for it.

The administration will likely claim this is about efficiency, about trimming waste, about making government work better. That's bullshit. You don't improve services by eliminating the people who provide them. You don't enhance efficiency by creating massive backlogs. You don't support veterans by making it harder for them to access care.

This is about ideology, not improvement. It's about a fundamental belief that government should do less, help less, be less—regardless of the damage caused.

As this disaster unfolds, there are a few glimmers of hope. Veterans service organizations are already mobilizing against the proposed cuts. The American Legion, VFW, Disabled American Veterans, and others have significant political clout and bipartisan respect. Their opposition could force the administration to scale back or reconsider the plans.

Congress also has oversight powers and controls funding. Lawmakers from both parties represent districts with significant veteran populations and VA facilities. The economic impact alone might motivate them to push back against the administration's plans.

Legal challenges are also likely. Federal employees have certain protections, and mass layoffs of this scale will undoubtedly trigger lawsuits that could delay or block some of the cuts.

But the most powerful force will be public opinion. Americans across the political spectrum support veterans, even if they disagree on other issues. If the public understands what these cuts really mean—that they directly harm veterans' health and well-being—the pressure could become too intense for even this administration to ignore.

When the March jobs report comes out showing warning signs of economic trouble, remember what caused it. When unemployment ticks up in communities across the country, remember what caused it. And when veterans start reporting longer wait times, denied claims, and deteriorating care, remember what caused it.

This isn't about efficiency. It isn't about making government work better. It's about an ideology that values tax cuts for the wealthy over care for veterans. It's about a president who sees the government—even the parts that help those who served—as something to be dismantled rather than improved.

The 70,000 VA employees facing unemployment deserve better. The millions of veterans who depend on the VA deserve better. And frankly, America deserves better than an administration willing to sacrifice veteran care on the altar of its small-government ideology.

For a president who drapes himself in patriotism and military imagery at every opportunity, this action reveals the truth: when it comes to actually supporting the troops after they've served, Trump's devotion is paper-thin. Veterans are about to learn this lesson the hard way—at the cost of their health, their benefits, and for some, potentially their lives.