Federal employee terminations hit Durham, Fayetteville VA healthcare systems

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Trump Administration and DOGE federal employee cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs have reached North Carolina. On Wednesday, ABC11 confirmed that some civilian employees at the Durham VA Healthcare System and Fayetteville VA Coastal Healthcare System are out of a job.

No specific number of how many were terminated has been released. ABC11 reached out to representatives from North Carolina, asking for more information.

Congresswoman Valerie Foushee sent this statement:

"The Trump Administration's recent move to indiscriminately terminate federal employees at our VA is reckless and will hurt our veterans, service members, and their families," said Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04). "The dedicated civil servants at the Durham VA Healthcare System and the Fayetteville VA Coastal Healthcare System work tirelessly each day to deliver essential health care, conduct critical research, and provide invaluable services to our veteran community throughout North Carolina, and this mass firing undermines our sacred promise to our servicemembers and the core mission of the VA itself."

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We'll add additional statements as we receive them.

Early this month, ABC11 talked to area veterans who are concerned about the impact on the military, health services, and their benefits.

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NC Veterans Concerned

Veteran Scott Peoples is part of a group of other former military members who want leaders to be more responsible. Peoples says he worries that even more change is possible -ultimately impacting health services.

"Just the way they've gone about it and just taking a wrecking ball and to the federal government and creating chaos everywhere and not having a plan of, you know, maybe phasing out certain jobs or letting people know," Peoples said.

When it comes to DEI in the military, he said serving with people of different backgrounds made his unit stronger.

"My grandfather served in World War II and his unit was all white. And, you know, it's a fact that after World War II that, you know, African Americans were denied their GI Bill rights. So the fact that we're just teaching our history is a good thing," said Peoples.

Peoples told ABC11 that as he talks with other Veterans about these issues the reaction is split, some agree and others do not.