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.