By Matthew Holloway |
Decorated combat veteran Army Captain Sam Brown (ret.), a 41-year-old, West Point graduate nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the National Cemetery Administration as Veteran Affairs Undersecretary of Memorial Affairs, was reportedly blocked in confirmation by Democrat Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
According to a post to X by VA Secretary Doug Collins, Brown is being blocked by Blumenthal and Gallego “to score cheap political points.” He commented, “Awful behavior, senators.”
Rather than offering an explanation for his blocking Brown, Gallego lobbed an ad hominem attack at Collins writing, “VA Collins only cares about disabled Veterans that are his political appointees. He is going to arbitrarily fire thousands of Veterans from the VA. Awful behavior Secretary.”
Similarly, Sen. Blumenthal accused Collins of attempting to distract the American people in his own post to X. He wrote, “Stop seeking to distract. Republicans can bring these nominees to the floor for a full debate & vote whenever they choose. Americans & veterans deserve transparency & accountability around your political nominees & your concealed plans to cut 83,000 VA employees.”
Blumenthal and Gallego appear to be referring to an alleged leaked memo released by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which refers to VA staffing reductions driven by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Workforce Optimization Initiative. While the VA has shared data with NPR showing that 11,273 agency employees nationwide have applied for deferred resignation, the department stated that staff cuts will not affect veterans’ health care with Collins accusing Democrats of fearmongering during a senate hearing on May 6th.
“I will not let you sit here and scare my veterans and scare my employees, because no one has discussed firing doctors or firing nurses,” Collins told Blumenthal. “We’ve always said that we’re going to keep frontline health care.”
Answering questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), he said, “We have been emphatic that we will not be cutting benefits and health care, only improving them.”
Reacting to the news, Brown released a statement via social media thanking VA Secretary Collins saying, “I’ve served our nation once with honor. I’ve been nominated by President Trump to do it again. Unfortunately there are Democrat Senators who want to block my service to the great USA, our beloved veterans, and their families.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
