The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), (apparently led by Elon Musk, although the Administration denies this), boasts of cutting unnecessary spending throughout the federal infrastructure. The DOGE website claims to have made massive cuts to trim the fat on agencies such as the Socia l Security Administration, the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Never mind the fact that these claims of widespread fraud and mismanagement have been soundly debunked – Mr. Musk and President Trump seem hellbent on gutting the federal system despite the mountains of evidence that contradict their mission. Mr. Musk and President Trump state that these cuts are for the betterment of American society as a whole. What Mr. Musk and President Trump do not disclose to the American public is the catastrophic impact their actions are having upon a population that is typically beloved across the political spectrum – veterans. First, nearly 30% of the federal workforce are veterans. Of those veterans, over half of them are disabled. Through the slashing of multiple federal programs, thousands of veterans have been disproportionately impacted by DOGE’s reckless layoff scheme. The federal government – once hailed as a stable work option – is the largest employer of veterans in the country. Next, DOGE’s cuts do not stop at the federal workforce. They will also affect any veteran who uses VA services. Douglas Collins, the current Secretary of Veterans Affairs, has made it clear that he does not intend to stop these cuts. Instead, Secretary Collins has embraced them with gusto, discounting the impact these cuts will have on the veterans he is supposed to serve.   Chelsea Donaldson The need for employees at the VA is dire. Over 400,000 veterans enrolled in VA Healthcare last year, and the agency already had 66,000 vacancies prior to Mr. Musk’s involvement with the federal system. Now, Secretary Collins is endorsing an 83,000 job cut.  Incredibly, those jobs include staffing for the Veterans Crisis Line – the suicide hotline created specifically for the veteran population. Meanwhile, Mr. Musk and Secretary Collins’ abrupt order to return VA workers to the office had no regard for patient confidentiality – indeed, most of these workers did not have an office to return to, and are thus forced to share cubicles while listening to veterans share their most personal and traumatizing moments in earshot of other employees. As the system is already overburdened, cutting over 80,000 jobs would be catastrophic. Wait times would grow even longer. Currently, there are veterans who die while waiting for healthcare or for their benefits claims to be resolved. If the Department cuts the workforce as promised, the problems at VA will be exacerbated past the point of no return.  More veterans will die.   Third, DOGE has elected to gut federal funding for research and other grant programs. Federal funding, as a whole, is at risk. I am no exception. The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC), where I work, receives federal funding for keeping vets in their homes instead of on the streets. I manage a team of advocates who tirelessly put their noses to the grindstone on a daily basis to ensure our clients receive the best shot they have at a stable source of income and healthcare. We do not charge for our services; our clients receive excellent legal representation without a dime coming out of their pocket. With 20% of our funding coming from the federal government, DOGE puts at risk my ability to operate at the same level of care. The same grants that the VA gives to legal organizations such as my own are being revoked, stalled, or ended – which prevents organizations from operating at the same staffing levels as they could have prior to the Trump Administration. Finally, I know the people who work at the VA. CVLC is the nation’s first medical-legal partnership with the Veterans Healthcare Administration. These individuals are not lazy, fraudulent, or uneducated. They are priceless comrades in the fight to ensure all veterans in Connecticut live with dignity. I could not imagine doing the work that I do without them at my side. To accuse these workers of being paid to do nothing is, quite frankly, ridiculous. I know of VA workers who have climbed through windows to ensure that their patients’ pets get fed while their veteran was subjected to an emergency hospital stay. Still other VA workers have accompanied their clients to invasive examinations that are required as part of the benefits process, to ensure that the veteran has an advocate if they need one. I have been to probate court with VA clinicians, visited apartments that were hoarded due to a veteran’s mental illness, and even witnessed a ‘bedbug’ oven where social workers burned infected garments to ensure their patient had a fresh start in a new home.  These federal workers are heroes; our veterans would be lost without them. If politicians choose to wrap themselves in the flag around election season and claim they are supporting our vets, then they must take a stand against Mr. Musk’s illegal actions to defund the federal government.  I urge Congress to take up the mantle and do their job to safeguard the funds that they appropriated for these agencies.  I urge the judicial branch to do everything within its power to cease this chaos and inflict sanctions upon those that would defy their court orders.  And I urge the president to recognize the damage that is being inflicted in his name upon the people he purports to serve. Elon Musk’s place is not in the White House. Mr. President, the American people did not elect the billionaire technocrat. They elected you. Chelsea Donaldson is a member of the Connecticut Mirror’s Community Editorial Board. ...read more read less