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Dozens fired from Michigan veteran care facilities as federal cuts continue

Hailey Kenward, a disabled veteran of the Army National Guard who had been a public affairs specialist at Detroit VA Medical Center for six months, is one of 2,400 VA employees who were fired in the last month. Lauren Gibbons/Bridge Michigan.

by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan)

DETROIT — Dozens of workers at Veterans Affairs medical centers in Michigan have lost their jobs amid President Donald Trump attempt to reduce federal government spending, prompting fears of substandard service and longer wait times for military veterans seeking care.

Nationally, about 2,400 employees in the US Department of Veterans Affairs have been fired in recent weeks, with cuts primarily targeting probationary employees. Another 60 employees involved in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives were placed on administrative leave in January, according to the agency.

At least 68 people who worked at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Detroit and Ann Arbor were included in the recent agency layoffs, including Hailey Kenward, a disabled veteran of the Army National Guard who had been a public affairs specialist at Detroit VA Medical Center for six months.

“It was difficult getting an email and just having that time that you spent, the stories that you’ve told and everything you’ve done throughout the last six months just shattered into pieces,” she said Friday after a public protest in Detroit organized by a workers’ union.

The local cuts come as business owner Elon Musk, at Trump behest, works to quickly shrink the federal workforce and drive down costs. Since the pandemic, the federal deficit has doubled to nearly $1.8 trillion. The number of federal workers has grown to 3 million from 2.75 million since 2015.

So far, thousands have been fired nationally across a broad swath of agencies. The administration has focused largely on probationary employees, who lack job protections because they were recently hired or promoted.

In announcing cuts last week, Veterans Affairs officials said the mass firings did not affect employees in “mission-critical” positions that support benefits and services for veterans, claiming the reductions would free up $83 million annually for veteran health care and other benefits.

“These and other recent personnel decisions are extraordinarily difficult, but VA is focused on allocating its resources to help as many Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors as possible,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “Veterans are going to notice a change for the better.”

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell — a Dearborn Democrat whose husband, longtime US Rep. John Dingell, is the namesake of Detroit VA medical center — joined union officials and federal workers affected by the firings for a protest outside the facility Friday.

She said she concerned that the loss of employees in Michigan VA medical centers comes so soon after federal investigators found patterns of substandard care, potentially jeopardizing progress while creating longer wait times and less safe conditions for veterans.

“We cannot go backwards,” Dingell, who has asked the federal government for more information about the layoffs, told reporters Friday. “They’re people that deserve to get the help they need, and we need to be there to provide it for them, not cut the services that they are getting.”

US Rep. Tom Barrett, a Michigan Republican, on Tuesday urged the VA to review the firings to ensure “only those who have truly underperformed” are relieved of duty.

“While I am encouraged to hear mission critical positions, including Veterans Crisis Line responders are exempt, I am concerned that probationary but otherwise qualified veterans are being unintentionally let go in the process,” Barrett told Collins in a letter.

“Any individuals who were released despite meeting all performance-related expectations should be immediately considered for reinstatement.”

Some Republican lawmakers have defended the administration firing spree in broad terms, including Michigan US Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township.

During a recent House Republican leadership news conference, McClain accused Democrats of “defending and even advocating for waste, fraud and abuse,” suggesting that government efficiency is a “constitutional crisis” that a majority of Americans want addressed.

“Democrats are soliciting sob stories from bloated bureaucrats with six-figure salaries,” McClain said. “Give me a break.”

Speaking broadly last week on federal employment cuts, U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, an Upper Peninsula Republican and a veteran, told WLUC-TV 6 he doesn’t expect many impacts on his Northern Michigan district.

Moving forward, “any federal agency has to make sure that it doing the job that it intended to do, not necessarily the job it likes doing because it feels good,” he said.

But critics argue the broad cuts across several federal agencies could have an outsize impact on veterans nationwide, who make up about .

Trump is slated to address a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening. US Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, announced Monday that she plans to bring Andrew Lennox — a Livingston County veteran who was recently fired from his VA position — with her as a guest to the speech.

“I wish it were under different circumstances,” Slotkin said in a statement, calling Lennox firing “shameful.”

Unions for federal workers have challenged the layoffs in court, and a California judge ruled last week that the Trump administration mass-firing of probationary employees is likely illegal. He ordered the administration to rescind directives for a host of federal agencies to fire probationary employees.

It unclear whether the Trump administration will heed the court directive, or what the ruling means for former federal employees newly out of work.

Kenward, the former Detroit VA public affairs specialist, said as much as she wants to continue helping veterans and sharing their stories, she needs to take care of her own needs.

“I can’t just sit around and wait,” she said.

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at  .

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.