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Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., will block President Donald Trump's nominations for top positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs, he announced Tuesday.
Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran, says the move is a protest against Trump's plans to gut the VA. He stands to block some 13 of Trump's VA nominees from receiving confirmation, though VA Secretary Doug Collins and deputy secretary Paul Lawrence have already been confirmed.
"Talking to veterans, people that I served with as well as seeing some of what’s happening in Arizona, I decided that whatever tool I have to fix the situation, I’m going to use it. And this is one of the few tools I have at this point," Gallego said.
"As someone who actually has used that VA, you know I had services there done in the past. There’s no way they’re going to be able to cut 15% of the workforce, and it’s not going to impact veterans’ benefits," he said.
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Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., says he will block President Donald Trump's upcoming nominees for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Getty Images)
The announcement came just hours before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was scheduled to hear testimony from three of Trump's nominees.
"Imagine how much better off Veterans would be if lawmakers like Sen. Gallego cared as much about fixing VA as they do about protecting the department’s broken bureaucracy," VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz told Fox News Digitial in a statement.
"VA health care has been on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk-list for more than a decade, and [Government Accountability Office] says VA faces ‘system-wide challenges in overseeing patient safety and access to care, hiring critical staff, and meeting future infrastructure needs.’ Under Secretary Collins, VA is working hard to fix these and other issues. Unfortunately, many in the media, government union bosses and some in Congress are fighting to keep in place the broken status quo," he added.
VA Secretary Doug Collins has already been confirmed to his position, but nearly a dozen nominees await confirmation. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
Gallego's obstructionist move is uncommon but not unprecedented. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., used the same method to block hundreds of military members from receiving promotions under President Joe Biden's administration. In that case, Tuberville was protesting the U.S. military's policies on abortion, and he eventually backed down.
There remain 11 unfilled Senate-confirmed positions at the VA. Trump has nominees lined up for five of those positions, but six have yet to receive nominees.
Trump's VA is in the midst of plans to cut its workforce by over 80,000 people. That would take it to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000 — before it had to provide benefits to veterans impacted by burn pits and exposure to other toxins under the 2022 PACT Act.
President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slice the VA back down to 2019 employment levels. (Pool via AP)
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Collins has argued that the cuts will not come at the expense of any veterans benefits.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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