Top White House adviser Alina Habba suggested Tuesday that some of the country’s military veterans might not be “fit to have a job at the moment” while defending the spate of government layoffs led by DOGE.
Habba, 40, stressed that President Trump cares about veterans but that the administration is balancing that with a need to be fiscally responsible and intends to “take care” of veterans in other ways.
“We care about veterans tremendously,” Habba told reporters near the White House lawn when asked about the layoffs. “At the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work.
“That doesn’t mean that we forget our veterans by any means. We are going to care for them in the right way, but perhaps they’re not fit to have a job at this moment or not willing to come to work.
“I really don’t feel sorry for them,” Habba said broadly about government workers who lost their jobs. “They should get back to work for the American people, like President Trump and this administration.”
Since Trump, 78, roared back into the White House in January, his administration has been working to slim down and revamp the federal government.
Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs fired about 2,400 employees. The administration has also fired thousands more staffers in other parts of the government, including veterans.
Veterans account for about 30% of federal employees, according to data from the Partnership for Public Service.
Last week, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) estimated that DOGE fired roughly 6,000 veterans as part of its cuts so far.
“The move should outrage anyone who respects our veterans and servicemembers and believes our promises to them should be upheld,” DeLauro said in a statement.
“We have repeatedly asked the Trump administration for additional information on the exact number of veterans they have fired and what they plan to do to support them.”
Habba argued that the Trump administration is merely trying to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
“I wouldn’t take money from you and pay somebody and say, ‘Sorry, they’re not going to come to work.’ It’s just not acceptable,” said the aide, who did private legal work for Trump in multiple high-profile cases in between his first and second administrations.
Habba was asked about the veterans who got fired after she was pressed about rank-and-file government employees losing their jobs.
DOGE and the Trump administration have been hit with dozens of lawsuits, including from federal employees who are challenging the mass layoffs.
