Grant Suneson
How Could A Hiring Freeze Affect The Department Of Veterans Affairs?
The department has been trying to hire 2,000 new employees to ease appointment backlogs and improve care for veterans.
LEARN MOREPosted: 7:01 p.m. EDT Apr 12, 2017
Days after taking office, President Trump issued an executive order halting the federal government from hiring any new employees for 90 days, other than the military and a few other exceptions.
Now, the White House is ending the federal hiring freeze ahead of schedule, saying it's come up with a "surgical plan" to reduce the size of the government.
But just because the government can hire again doesn't mean it will in a lot of cases. Trump promised to drastically cut funding for lots of agencies, meaning they might not be able to hire as many workers.
It's unclear how that will affect day-to-day functions, but the freeze already made it tough for some key offices. Veterans benefit claims stacked up, federal prisons were understaffed and social security checks were delayed.
Trump has also struggled to fill the positions that he allowed exceptions for. There are more than 500 positions that require Senate approval. Only 22 have been filled so far, less than half as many as President Obama filled at the same point.
