"We love our veterans," Trump said during an Oval Office photo op shortly after his inauguration. "We are going to take good care of them." Days after that pronouncement, a memo leaked showing the administration was considering sweeping job cuts at the agency. "Things need to change," warned Doug Collins, Trump's new VA secretary, in a video message to staff. Six months after Trump entered the White House, the VA had 3,800 fewer doctors, nurses and other "mission critical" staff than it did at the start of his term, according to the department's own data. While the losses made up a small percentage of overall employees, the drop compounded longstanding shortages " and contrasted sharply with a hiring spree under President Joe Biden that had begun to address them. Many of the front-line workers who quit in Trump's early days have never been replaced. Instead, the VA has eliminated thousands of open positions, including doctors, nurses and other providers.