‘Confusion and chaos’: Trump’s DOGE cuts hit Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Over a dozen employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ regional office and medical center in Boise were fired Monday, according to two employees whose jobs were not cut.
The employees, who spoke with the Idaho Statesman on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said 14 of their colleagues were laid off effective immediately via an external email from the government’s Office of Personnel Management as Elon Musk moves to slash the federal workforce at the behest of President Donald Trump.
Damian McGee, director of the VA’s regional office of public affairs in Los Angeles, told the Statesman that the Boise VA Medical Center had “dismissed a small number of probationary staff” this month.
“This decision will have no negative effect on veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” McGee said by email.
One of the workers who was laid off at the Boise VA Medical Center was an administrative assistant. Another had provided direct care to veterans in the behavioral health acute care clinic, which is part of the rehabilitation wing, according to one of the employees who spoke on condition on anonymity.
“I get to talk to a bunch of patients now who are asking where that person is,” the employee said. “It’s basically just sowing confusion and chaos, which I understand is the purpose of it, but it’s just demoralizing.”
The employee said the cuts weren’t related to job performance. They said there was a feeling that “it could happen to anybody.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we use unnamed sources
The Idaho Statesman uses unnamed sources in rare instances in accordance with our ethics policy to provide information and/or perspective to readers that we couldn’t otherwise report. Often, the source will request anonymity because they fear retribution or personal harm, and editors weigh the source’s preference against the standard practice in journalism of citing information sources. The identity of the source requesting anonymity is known to the journalists involved, and the decision to allow an unnamed source must be approved by a senior editor. Whenever possible, our reporters must corroborate the information provided by the unnamed source with a second source.
Veterans Affairs provides benefits and services to veterans and their families, including health care. Many of the department’s employees are veterans themselves.
Nationwide, about 2,500 jobs have been slashed at the department in February. The first round of layoffs, affecting 1,000 employees, was announced Feb. 13. On Monday, the department said it was dismissing more than 1,400 additional employees in what it deemed non-mission-critical positions. Jobs that are considered mission critical include veterans crisis-line responders, according to a news release from Veterans Affairs.
“VA positions considered non-mission critical include DEI-related positions, among other roles,” the department said, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Most of the employees who were dismissed in Boise were considered probationary because they began working for Veterans Affairs in the last year or two, both of the employees who spoke to the Statesman said. But some were considered probationary because they had recently received a promotion.
“They found out when they came in to work on Monday to fill out their five bullet points,” the first employee said.
Musk demanded over the weekend that all federal employees submit a list of five things they accomplished in the previous week or face being terminated, Politico reported. The billionaire is leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Despite its name, it’s not an official government department, which would need congressional approval. Rather, it’s an initiative created by Trump tasked with reducing federal spending.
“I know the people we lost were really good people, good workers, and some day down the road, hopefully things will work out to where, if we have another opening here, they’ll have an interest in coming back,” the second employee said by phone. “It’s sad. We’re working on seeing what we can do to help the people we lost.”
Gov. Brad Little’s office did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Rep. Mike Simpson, who held a veterans resource fair Feb. 21 with the Boise VA Regional Office and the Boise VA Medical Center, also did not respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, a federal judge in California granted a temporary restraining order against the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, saying the termination of probationary federal employees is illegal and “should be stopped” because the office does not have the authority to hire or fire employees at another agency, The New York Times reported.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
