June 04, 2025

Duckworth Presses Nominee to Be VA’s Inspector General on Whether She Will Prioritize the Interests of Our Veterans Over Loyalty to Trump

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC)—pressed the nominee to serve as Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Cheryl Mason, on whether she intends to remain impartial in her investigations and put the needs of our Veterans ahead of the whims of Donald Trump. Duckworth raised concerns about Ms. Mason’s commitment to uphold the rule of law, particularly since she refuses to acknowledge that her nomination is only possible because Donald Trump illegally fired her predecessor. Duckworth’s remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.

“Congress established Inspector Generals to help ensure any given Administration complies with the law—and instead of carrying out these important oversight responsibilities, I’m deeply concerned that Ms. Mason would simply serve as a private investigator for Donald Trump,” said Duckworth. “Our VA’s Inspector General must be willing to speak truth to power in order to act in the best interests of our brave Veterans—not the President who continues to betray our heroes every single day.”

Duckworth has long been a leading advocate for Veterans and her voice remains as important as ever in the wake of the disastrous Trump-Musk layoffs at the VA. After the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate purge of Veterans and VA employees, including staff who help operate the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), Duckworth led her fellow Democratic colleagues in demanding answers from Trump and VA Secretary Doug Collins on exactly who was impacted—requesting a list of public answers detailing the specific job categories that were impacted, how many of those fired were Veterans and more. After the first purge at VA laid off workers with the VCL—including several Veterans—Duckworth successfully pushed the Trump Administration to reinstate these devoted public servants that work to support our Veterans in their darkest moments.

In April, Duckworth introduced a resolution to condemn the Trump-Musk layoffs and demand the immediate reinstatement of all Veteran federal employees illegally and indiscriminately fired since Trump took office. Ultimately, Republicans blocked the resolution.

Pushing for this resolution came after Duckworth and U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced their Protect Veteran Jobs Act, legislation that would reinstate the thousands of Veterans who were fired in the Trump-Musk layoffs. Duckworth and Kim subsequently introduced their legislation as an amendment to Republicans’ slush fund continuing resolution. Republicans shamefully blocked it from passing.

In February, Duckworth also joined SVAC Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and a group of 34 Democratic Senators calling on VA Secretary Collins to immediately reinstate the more than 1,000 VA employees terminated earlier that month who serve Veterans and their families nationwide, including critical employees addressing Veteran suicide working at the VCL.

-30-