Former Trump VA secretary: ‘I don't know any system that slashes it's way to excellence'
'I do applaud the administration for taking a look at how they can make this agency work better. We cannot continue the status quo. The wait times are going up … veteran suicide is actually on the rise, we have tens of thousands of homeless veterans, so, we do need to take a look at how to improve this system,' Shulkin told CNN's Brianna Keilar on 'CNN News Central.'
'But I don't know any system that slashes its way to excellence,' he added.
In a video statement Wednesday, Collins said while the VA worked on its 'department-wide review of its organization, operations and structure,' in line with President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) workforce optimization initiative, the department was taking 'a pragmatic and disciplined approach to eliminating waste and bureaucracy.'
'Our goal is to reduce VA employment levels to 2019 in strength numbers, roughly 398,000 employees, from our current level of approximately 470,000 employees,' Collins said in the video. 'Now that's a 15 percent decrease. We're going to accomplish this without making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries.'
Last week, the VA fired 1,400 employees as it was already facing public outcry on low transparency following 1,000 other workers being fired earlier in February.
'The VA is a terrific national resource, and it's filled with people that are there to help veterans,' Shulkin said Thursday.
'So, the one thing we don't want to do is lose the confidence in the VA,' he continued.
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a day ago
- Yahoo
Congressman Misspells the Name of His Own State in High-Stakes Campaign Ad
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The Intercept
a day ago
- The Intercept
Trump Prepares to Revoke Lifesaving Abortion Care for Veterans
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And restricting or cutting off access to abortion would only compound the additional barriers to accessing quality health care that veterans already face, Fey noted. 'Serving in the U.S. military is often a way out of poverty for a lot of people in this country, and because of systemic racism, a disproportionate number of the people looking for that way out are Black and brown women when they serve in the military,' said Fey. 'When we talk about reproductive health care in this country, the harms don't fall equally.' The Trump administration has been steadily chipping away at policies put in place by President Joe Biden to protect access to reproductive health care. In June, Trump rescinded guidance from the Biden administration that directed hospitals under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act to provide stabilizing treatment to patients in medical emergencies — including abortion care. 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Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Georgia Senate GOP Candidate Misspells Georgia In Campaign Announcement
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Georgia Representative Mike Collins on Monday joined the field challenging Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff in next year's senate race. But there was a slight error in Collins' official campaign kickoff video: it misspelled the name of his home state, calling it "Georiga" in a brief graphic that can be seen below. Mike Collins is ready to put the hammer down and get it done. — Mike Collins War Room (@TeamOverhaulGA) July 27, 2025 Why It Matters Collins' campaign announcement comes as Republicans have named Georgia a top priority to gain a Senate seat in the 2026 midterms. The second-term member of Congress is entering a packed field: U.S. Representative Buddy Carter is running, while the state's insurance commissioner, John King, recently dropped out. Derek Dooley, the former football coach at the University of Tennessee, is also expected to run, according to the Associated Press. What To Know Collins took aim at Georgia's incumbent senator, Jon Ossoff, in his video announcement released Monday. "I don't know who Jon Ossoff really works for, but it sure as heck isn't Georgia," Collins said in the video, against images of him shooting guns and standing in front of a semitruck. "It's time to send a trucker to the U.S. Senate, steamroll the radical left, deliver on President Trump's 'America First' agenda and put the people of Georgia back in the driver's seat." Collins had been considering a Senate run since Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced in May that he would not run against Ossoff, AP reported. Ossoff and Raphael Warnock delivered a massive win to Democrats when they picked up Georgia's two Senate seats in 2020, the first time in 15 years that Georgia was represented by two Democratic senators. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow. The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
