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President Donald Trump's temporary hiring freeze on federal jobs is disproportionately affecting a group of his most loyal supporters: veterans, who receive preference in federal hiring. Some already have had job interviews canceled or postponed, advocacy groups say.
The hiring freeze also applies to the Department of Veterans Affairs, something that deeply troubles veterans groups and lawmakers, who say the freeze complicates the provision of veterans services by an agency that is chronically understaffed.
"Our nation's veterans should not be made to sacrifice any more than they already have while you review federal hiring," a group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., wrote in a letter to Trump, urging him to exempt veterans from the freeze, that had 53 signatures as of Thursday morning.