Returning to a phrase he is well-accustomed to using, President Donald Trump warned any “bad” Veterans Affairs (VA) employees on Wednesday night: mess with veterans, and “you’re fired.” The President was speaking at the 99th Annual American Legion Convention in Reno, Nevada.
“So if somebody that works at the VA is bad to the people of the VA, disrespectful, not treating our fellow patriots well, we look at them and we say: ‘You’re fired.’ That’s it. That’s it,” Trump said during his address. “They don’t do a good job, they’re out.”
“We have great people at the VA, but we want people who do a great job. We weren’t able to do that before. That was a hard piece of legislation to get passed [the VA Accountability Act]. It’s been worked on for so long, it got done, and we’re very proud of that.”
The President signed the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act in June. The legislation makes it easier to remove VA employees due to poor performance or misconduct. It also authorizes the VA secretary to take back bonuses that were awarded to such employees. Additionally, the law protects those who might make a complaint against the department, as it prevents the VA from dismissing any employee with an open complaint.
Signing this Act was something Trump promised to do during his campaign for President.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has fired more than 530 employees and suspended more than 200 others since President Trump took office in January, according to a recent VA report.
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