Lawmakers and veterans service organizations confirmed to the Associated Press that the VA had paused billions of dollars in planned contract cuts after concerns were raised about the effect on veteran care.

In a statement to the outlet, VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said that the contract review is “ongoing and not final.”

“We will not be eliminating any benefits or services to Veterans or VA beneficiaries, and there will be no negative impact to VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. We are always going to take care of Veterans at VA. Period,” he said.

The Trump administration has cut 2,400 workers deemed “non-mission critical” from the VA as part of its effort to downsize and cut government spending.

In a Tuesday internal VA email obtained by the Associated Press, a VA contracting official warned that some of the targeted contracts broadly characterized as “consulting” included ones that would halt chemotherapy and imaging services.

Laid off VA employees speaking with the Washington Examiner warned that the laying off of supporting personnel could have a cascading effect on veteran care.

“I don’t see how there will be no impact to care for veterans, pulling people away from the support roles, pulling people away from the supply and from the facilities maintenance and from emergency management, where I work, is all going to have an impact upon the facility,” said Adam Mulvey, 47, who worked at a federal healthcare center in Illinois. “The waits may be longer, the time to get medicine or the time to get prosthetics fixed may take longer, so it’s definitely going to hinder care.”

VA Secretary Doug Collins acknowledged that the recent dismissals were “extraordinarily difficult” but argued that the savings of $83 million a year would go toward serving veterans.

“These moves will not hurt VA healthcare, benefits, or beneficiaries. In fact, veterans are going to notice a change for the better,” he said in a statement. 

The Department of Government Efficiency said that 28 VA contracts have been canceled, leading to $81 million in savings. Of those, two were for LinkedIn-related services, one for Politico subscription services, and two related to LGBT outreach efforts, according to Washington Technology. Other canceled contracts were for digital modernization, program management, and business process engineering.

One example of a VA digital modernization contract is one with Cerner — one of the biggest IT contracts in the federal government with a ceiling of $10 billion over 10 years. The modernization was to update systems and streamline data sharing between the VA, Department of Defense, and local providers. It was negotiated during Trump’s first term.

The breakneck pace of DOGE has drawn criticism, including from some Republicans. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) urged Musk to slow down DOGE’s pace of cuts after he was confronted by angry town hall attendees back home in Georgia.

What is DOGE? What to know about the Department of Government Efficiency

David Shulkin, who served as VA secretary during Trump’s first administration, told the Associated Press that the growing size of the VA was due to the increasing needs of the agency. He recommended slowing down the pace of firings to better assess what personnel were essential.

“I do think slowing down and pausing to see what the consequences are, even if they are unintended consequences, is important to do,” he said.