Shipyards, military clinics exempted from Pentagon hiring freeze
Advocates praised defense leaders for excluding shipyard workers and other key readiness jobs from a department-wide hiring freeze.
Oversight
VA leaders announce end to all transgender-related care for vets
Department leaders promised to continue to provide necessary care to transgender veterans even after the rule changes.
Judge orders return of dismissed probationary workers at VA, DOD
Thousands of federal employees could be reinstated to their government jobs following the ruling.
GOP senators eye legislative guardrails as VA prepares mass job cuts
GOP Senate leaders said they are working with VA officials on ways to ensure that plans to cut 80,000 jobs don't dismantle department services.
Stopgap budget bill includes extra funds for military, VA programs
The six-month budget bill must be approved by lawmakers before Friday night to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Congress faces Friday budget deadline to avoid government shutdown
Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of March 10, 2025.
Congress readies troop pay protections as federal shutdown looms again
If lawmakers do not pass a new budget bill by March 14, funding for most federal programs and serives will run out.
VA to speed up health records system rollout, with new sites this year
A previous plan to deploy the controversial health records system to more VA hospitals in mid-2026 was short-sighted and slow, the new VA secretary said.
VA secretary insists massive staff cuts needed to refocus department
Secretary Doug Collins confirmed leaders are looking at trimming 80,000 workers to slim down the growing VA bureaucracy.
Trump speech to Congress expected to key on Ukraine, national security
Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of March 3, 2025.
Disabled vets continue to struggle finding post-military employment
The latest survey by Wounded Warrior Project shows a higher unemployment rate for disabled veterans than their civilian peers.
VA fires 1,400 more staffers in second round of workforce reductions
About 2,500 VA workers have been forced out of their jobs in the last few weeks.
VA secretary emphasizes reforms, accountability for federal workforce
In his first public address to a veterans group, Doug Collins outlined plans to broaden VA benefits and cut back bureaucracy.
Cuts to staff, budget will boost military strength, Hegseth says
Hegseth promised to reinvest budget savings in other military programs and jettison civilian workers who are not living up to expectations.
VA leadership nominee grilled over recent department layoffs
President Donald Trump nominated Paul Lawrence to serve as the second-highest leader in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Vets group blasts Trump plane crash comments as ‘shameful’
The president on Thursday suggested that programs to hire workers with disabilities may have lead to the aircraft collision that killed 67 people.
Vets may see only a small cost-of-living boost in benefits next year
An outside watchdog estimates the benefits adjustment will be less than 3% in 2025.
