Senate Democrats are pushing a measure to reinstate veterans who were recently fired from the federal government without cause as part of President Trump’s sweeping moves to drastically reduce the federal workforce.
The mass firings, spearheaded by tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk, have affected an estimated 6,000 veterans. In total, veterans make up about 30 percent of the federal workforce, according to the office of Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
“These veterans not only stepped up to serve our country in uniform but chose to continue their public service in our federal workforce,” Kim said in a statement on the Democrats’ proposal in the Senate. “How dare anyone bring this chaos onto them and endanger them and their families’ livelihoods in such a way.”
A similar bill has been proposed in the House.
The Trump administration has defended the mass firings that have affected tens of thousands of jobs, including those held by veterans.
“As you know, we care about veterans tremendously. I mean, that’s something the president has always cared about, anybody in blue, anybody that serves this country,” Trump adviser Alaina Habba said last week. “But at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work.”
“We are going to care for them in the right way, but perhaps they’re not fit to have a job at this moment, or not willing to come to work,” she added.
The Democrats’ proposed legislation would require the Trump administration to file quarterly reports to Congress detailing veterans who have been removed from federal jobs and why.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a combat veteran who is among the bill’s sponsors, called for bipartisan support for the measure.
“The message of our bill is simple: Give our heroes their jobs back,” she said in a statement. “If Republicans really care about our Veterans, they should stop enabling Trump and Musk’s chaos and support our legislation.”
Republicans have narrow majorities in the House and Senate, and GOP lawmakers have not openly attempted to buck Trump over the Musk-helmed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) though some have expressed frustrations privately.
