Doug Collins

VA Secretary Doug Collins said on social media the department will remove positions he called unnecessary, most of which have been unfilled for a year.

He said VA hospitals will continue to fill vacancies as needed.

A VA spokesman said that'll be about 25,000 jobs.

About 30,000 positions have already been eliminated through attrition, early retirement, and deferred resignation since the Trump administration announced plans to downsize the VA.

The lead Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Richard Blumenthal, said continued cuts to VA's workforce are incomprehensible and inexcusable, and that unfilled doesn't mean unnecessary.

An inspector general report in August found VA faces severe staffing shortages for medical officers and nurses.

Quill Lawrence, NPR News.

Good morning, everyone, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, all the VSOs, all of our veteran staff here today, and welcome you to a place in which we honor our veterans, those who have served

I tell you, it was an honor to be here, but it was an even bigger honor just over a year ago when President asked me to take this job.

And I asked him a simple question.

I said, Mr. President, what would you like me to do?

And he looked at me with a simple phrase.

He said, take care of our veterans.

I tell all the rest of the cabinet, I've got the best job in the world because I get to take care of the best people in the world, the veterans of the United States of America.

And this president is firmly committed to making sure this happens.

The VA is a different place today than it was just nine months ago.

Nine months ago, there was more of an inner reflection.

Now it is an outer reflection.

The only thing that matters at the VA is that the veteran comes first.

All we do is not about a bureaucracy or where we're from.