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what happened
This week, the senator called for a federal investigation into the murder of hundreds of contracts by the Trump administration for the Bureau of Veterans Affairs. Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Maine’s independent Angus King asked government inspectors on Monday to investigate the cancellation of veteran contracts and the outcomes.
The senator highlighted “awful reports from Propublica” of cancellations, including how government efficiency used artificial intelligence tools that marked contracts as “munchable.”
The senator wrote that Doge is using AI to scrutinize contracts.
VA officials say they killed nearly 600 contracts after Doge’s review but rejected requests for details from lawmakers and Propublica.
“Despite repeated requests for letters to the secretary, questions at hearings and dozens of emails to VA staff, the senator wrote:
Blumenthal and King wrote that the VA shared a list of contracts in May, but “were troubled by errors and inaccuracies.”
What they said
In his administration’s “Stonewalling,” Blumenthal said in a statement: “Propublica’s report revealed that these cancelled contracts provide essential services to veterans, exposing the cruel and stupid AI formula Doge Bros, which is used to cancel contracts.”
Blumenthal added: “Veterans and all Americans deserve transparency regarding the decisions being made in the VA.”
background
As Propublica detailed, Doge staff with no government or healthcare backgrounds have created AI tools that are used to mark contracts as “muddy.” Some contracts tagged and later killed maintained gene sequencing devices to improve cancer treatment. The other was for blood sample analysis in support of the VA research project. And the third was to help measure and improve nursing care.
Another story has reported how VA doctors and other staff raised vigilance about how contract killings threatened veteran care. In an internal email, hospital staff warned of cancelled contracts to maintain cancer registrations where information about patient care is collected and analyzed. Doge had marked one of such contracts “for immediate termination.”
Why is it important?
VA is one of the nation’s largest healthcare providers and is responsible for caring for more than 9 million veterans. President Donald Trump has long committed to prioritizing former service members. “We love veterans,” he said in February. “We’re going to take care of them.”
The administration has repeated its stance despite the VA’s elimination of contracts with employees. In his cutback, he chose to run Trump’s agency, Secretary Doug Collins said earlier this year that “veterans will notice changes for the better.”
response
The VA has not responded to requests for comment on the Senator’s letter. Previously, spokesman for Pete Kasperowicz said the decision to cancel or reduce the size of the contract will come after multiple reviews by VA employees, including agency contract experts and senior staff.
He also said the VA has not cancelled contracts offering veterans and jobs.
Doge has developed an error-prone AI tool to “munk” veteran contracts
An internal VA email reveals how Trump puts veteran care at risk.
