Donald Trump’s personal attorney turn White House counselor Alina Habba, suggested on Tuesday that some veterans simply “are not fit” to work for the government.
“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. But at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work,” Habba told reporters outside the White House when asked about veterans being laid off as part of South African born billionaire Elon Musk’s plan to reduce government spending.
“That doesn’t mean that we forget our veterans by any means. 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,” Habba said. “I wouldn’t take money from you and pay somebody and say, ‘Sorry, they’re not going to come to work.’ It’s just not acceptable.”
Veterans are given preferential treatment in civil service job applications and make up an estimated 30% of the federal workforce.
Democratic lawmakers estimate that Musk-led DOGE has fired approximately 6,000 veterans in his attempt to get rid of waste from the federal government.
Several veterans slam Habba’s remarked in comments to NBC News.
“The narrative that remote/teleworkers do not work is not accurate and insulting,” Emily Erroa, who had recently fired from the Department of Energy , said. “Especially when it comes to veterans that have [a] specific diagnosis due to fighting and serving the country.”
Jesus Tony Ruiz, an Army veteran who was laid off from the VA last month, also criticized Habba’s remarks.
“I lost my job in the VA thanks to Donald Trump,” said Ruiz, who was invited to speak to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday by the progressive group VoteVets. “So what did I do for my country? I served my country, and now they fired me. So no, they’re not helping me out whatsoever.”
Another veteran, who requested anonymity because they still work in the federal government, called her remarks a “slap in the face to those who have served, sacrificed, and … carry the scars both mental and physical from their service.
“Coming to work? It’s not always as simple as showing up. Some days, I can’t even stand up and the pain is excruciating,” this person said, adding, “Does that make me unemployable in his [Trump’s] eyes? Apparently so.”
Congressional Democrats are attempting to push the issue of Trump firing veterans centre-stage by inviting laid-off military veterans to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
