by Eric Umansky and Vernal Coleman
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What Happened
Senators this week called for a federal investigation into the Trump administration’s killing of hundreds of contracts for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Angus King, a Maine independent, wrote to the agency’s inspector general on Monday asking for an investigation into the administration’s cancellation of the contracts and the consequences for veterans.
The senators highlighted “damning reporting from ProPublica” on the cancellations, including how the Department of Government Efficiency used an artificial intelligence tool that marked contracts as “MUNCHABLE.”
The senators wrote that DOGE’s use of AI to scrutinize contracts “adds an entire new level of unease connected to the decision-making, security, governance, and quality control of the entire process.”
VA officials have said they’ve killed nearly 600 contracts after DOGE’s review but have declined requests by lawmakers and ProPublica for details.
“Despite repeated requests in letters to the Secretary, questions at hearings, and dozens of emails to VA officials,” the senators wrote, “the Department has not provided a single briefing or a complete and accurate list of the contracts it has cancelled.”
Blumenthal and King wrote that the VA shared a list of contracts in May, but it was “riddled with errors and inaccuracies.”
What They Said
Amid the administration’s “stonewalling,” Blumenthal said in a statement, “ProPublica’s reporting revealed these cancelled contracts were delivering essential services to veterans and exposed the cruel and dumb AI formulas DOGE bros used to cancel contracts.”
Blumenthal added, “Veterans and all Americans deserve transparency around decisions being made at VA.”
Background
As ProPublica detailed, a DOGE staffer with no background in government or health care created the AI tool used to mark contracts as “munchable.” Among the contracts that were tagged and later killed was one to maintain a gene sequencing device for improving cancer treatment. Another was for blood sample analysis in support of a VA research project. And a third was to help measure and improve nursing care.
In another story, we reported how VA doctors and other staffers across the country have raised alarms about how the killing of contracts could threaten veterans’ care. In internal emails, hospital staffers warned about canceled contracts to maintain cancer registries, where information on the treatment of patients is collected and analyzed. DOGE had marked one such contract “for immediate termination.”
Why it Matters
The VA is one of the nation’s largest health care providers, charged with the care of more than 9 million veterans. President Donald Trump has long promised to prioritize former service members. “We love our veterans,” he said in February. “We are going to take good care of them.”
The administration has reiterated that stance even as the VA has been shedding employees and contracts. Amid the cutbacks, Trump’s pick to run the agency, Secretary Doug Collins, said earlier this year, “Veterans are going to notice a change for the better.”
Response
The VA has not responded to our request for comment about the senators’ letter. Previously, press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said that decisions to cancel or reduce the size of contracts are made after multiple reviews by VA employees, including agency contracting experts and senior staff.
He also said the VA has not canceled contracts that provide services to veterans or work that the agency cannot do itself without a contingency plan in place.