WASHINGTON (AP) — A freshman Democratic congressman is introducing a bill to protect the jobs of veterans working for the U.S. government amid mass firings by the Trump administration, the latest legislative response to the turmoil rippling across federal agencies.
The bill from Rep. Derek Tran, an Army veteran and former employment lawyer, would require that any veterans terminated without reason from the federal government since the start of President Donald Trump’s term be reinstated. It would also require federal agencies to submit reports to Congress on the veteran dismissals and provide justifications for their actions.
“They sacrificed so much to protect our country, to defend our freedom,” said Tran, who represents parts of Orange County, California. “Now they’ve been kicked to the curb.”
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled House, but it serves as just the latest example of how Democrats are trying to harness public backlash to Trump’s efforts to upend the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
