VA reveals hundreds of additional firings following Trump’s State of the Union

By: Leo Shane III, Army Times

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs revealed on Wednesday several hundred employee firings that had not been publicly reported.

The revised tally matches comments made by President Donald Trump during his State of the Union address. Trump said more than 1,500 VA employees had been fired since he signed new accountability legislation last summer.

Military Times on Tuesday night reported that Trump had exaggerated that number, citing VA’s own statistics on its website. On Wednesday, the VA said Trump’s figure included about 700 probationary dismissals not previously publicly reported.