U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has written a letter to President Donald Trump, demanding the administration pause mass layoffs — especially among military veterans.
The letter came after the administration sent a memo to agency heads on Wednesday, telling them to plan for “large-scale reductions” in March and April.
Around one-third of the federal workforce are veterans — but at the Department of Defense, it’s closer to half.
Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs committee, said the Trump administration plans to lay off between eight and 10% of the DOD’s civilian workforce.
“They're not dispensable or disposable,” Blumenthal told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “They are mission critical, and they are veterans. Half of that civilian workforce, the 72,000 people who are going to be fired abruptly, inconsistently, unconscionably, are veterans.”
There are more than 10,000 federal workers in Connecticut. Around 2,000 of them work for the DOD, and 600 are civilians.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) estimates that the Trump administration has already fired nearly 6,000 veterans.
“This move should outrage anyone who respects our veterans and servicemembers and believes our promises to them should be upheld,” DeLauro said. “We have repeatedly asked the Trump administration for additional information on the exact number of veterans they have fired and what they plan to do to support them. The American people deserve answers.”
