More than 60 House Democrats are pressing VA Secretary Doug Collins after ProPublica reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs has lost hundreds of mental health clinicians under President Donald Trump’s second administration, including about 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists in January than a year earlier. The clinical fallout: veterans are losing therapists, facing longer waits and shorter visits, and in some cases being shifted from individual care to online groups of up to 35 patients.

The Move

• Lawmakers led by Rep. Judy Chu, a psychologist, sent Collins a letter demanding details on VA mental health staffing shortages, their impact on veterans, and current wait times for care.

• The letter cites reporting that hundreds of VA mental health staffers have left and not been replaced, worsening a longstanding workforce gap.

• The VA has until Aug. 14 to respond.

Why It Matters for Care

• The VA is the nation’s largest health system, serving 9 million veterans — a population with higher rates of mental health conditions and a suicide rate roughly double that of the general population.

• For clinicians, the bedside implication is straightforward: fewer experienced VA psychologists and psychiatrists can mean disrupted continuity, compressed follow-up, and substitution of group tele-sessions for one-on-one care.

• One Arizona psychologist told ProPublica some veterans were moved into online groups as large as 35, while remaining individual visits were sometimes cut to 16 minutes.

Between the Lines

• This is not just a hiring problem. Exit surveys obtained by ProPublica suggest burnout and moral injury: departing staff said they could no longer deliver high-quality mental health care.

• The politics matter because the workforce decline has unfolded amid broader Trump administration downsizing at the VA, including staffing cuts, contract scrutiny, and controversy over DOGE-linked management changes and AI use.

• Even if total appointment counts rise, clinicians know access metrics can mask loss of therapeutic continuity and specialty expertise — especially in trauma-informed veteran care.

What to Watch

• Whether the VA meets the Aug. 14 deadline with granular data on vacancies, attrition, and wait times.

• Whether House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs members escalate with hearings, inspector general requests, or demands for staffing protections.

• Whether future VA disclosures support the agency’s claim that mental health appointments are up and wait times are down despite continued workforce losses.

Source: ProPublica