WASHINGTON, D.C. – Virginia Senator Tim Kaine joined two other Democratic senators to introduce legislation that would reinstate veterans who were fired from their federal jobs by the Trump administration. 

What we know:

U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Kaine are introducing the Protect Veteran Jobs Act.

The legislation targets 30% of the federal workforce, and it’s estimated that the Administration has already fired more than 6,000 veterans.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press, 80,000 jobs will be cut from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“President Trump has fired more veterans in his first few weeks in office than any U.S. President. This is unacceptable. These men and women have made tremendous sacrifices in service to our nation, and now they are being kicked to the curb by a President who has previously called servicemembers and veterans losers and suckers,” said Kaine. “Every one of my colleagues should be able to support this legislation that would reinstate veterans who were fired as part of the Trump Administration’s mass, indiscriminate firing of federal employees.”

The Protect Veteran Jobs Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV). Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Derek Tran (D-CA-45).

The Protect Veteran Jobs Act is endorsed by VoteVets, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AMVETS, the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Federal employees fired

The backstory:

Layoffs and firings have affected many federal departments in recent weeks. 

Since Donald Trump took office in January, one of his top priorities has been cutting and reorganizing spending within the federal government.

By the numbers:

According to the agency’s website, as of March 5, 2025, DOGE estimates its savings at around $105 billion. The agency attributes this to “a combination of fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancelations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancelations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.”