VA Chief of Staff Syrek issued internal memo ordering elimination of ~83,000 positions to return to pre-PACT Act staffing levels

On March 4, 2025, Department of Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek issued an internal memo directing the VA to return to 2019 staffing levels of approximately 399,957 employees — a reduction of roughly 83,000 positions from the agency's current workforce. The memo was developed in coordination with DOGE and set a phased timeline: internal review by May 9, a full reorganization plan by June, and layoffs beginning in August.

The planned reduction targets the staffing Congress authorized the VA to add when it passed the PACT Act in 2022. That law expanded VA healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances — including burn pits and Agent Orange — and required the department to hire significantly more staff to process claims and provide care to newly eligible veterans. By directing a return to pre-PACT Act staffing levels through an administrative memo rather than seeking legislative repeal, the VA moved to functionally nullify a congressionally-enacted law.

The PACT Act passed with broad bipartisan support and represented one of the most significant expansions of veterans' benefits in decades. Eliminating the workforce needed to carry out the law's mandates — without going through Congress — is the mechanism recorded here.