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The Department of Veterans Affairs gutted its workforce. Lawmakers say veterans are now paying the price.
investment

The Department of Veterans Affairs gutted its workforce. Lawmakers say veterans are now paying the price.

Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images 2026-01-24T14:02:01.224Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. A Democratic congressional report criticizes the Department of Veterans Affairs for major healthcare cuts. The VA lost over 40,000 workers in 2025, impacting mental health and appointment access, the report says. A VA spokesperson called the report "political theater" after it raised concerns. A scathing report released this week by Democratic congressional staff sharply criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs, accusing the agency of dramatically reducing its healthcare capacity after slashing tens of thousands of jobs in the past fiscal year. The report, issued by Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Democrats, argues that the sweeping overhaul of the VA has weakened its ability to deliver care.The VA lost more than 40,000 employees in fiscal year 2025, marking the department's first net workforce decline in years, the report said; early planned cuts targeted over 80,000 jobs. Nearly 90% of those losses, it continued, came from healthcare roles, including physicians, nurses, mental health providers, and appointment schedulers. Democratic staffers attribute the workforce hemorrhage to last year's dramatic DOGE-driven cuts — a federal hiring freeze, firings of probationary employees, deferred resignation and early retirement programs, and new staffing caps that limited the department's ability to backfill vacancies. The report maintains that those changes accelerated departures among clinicians and support staff."In a typical year, VA's workforce gains a net of at least 10,000 employees. Under the first year of Trump, Collins, and Musk, the workforce has experienced a net loss three times tha

Business Insider
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Take a look at the fanciest private jets and government aircraft that took the rich and powerful to Davos
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Take a look at the fanciest private jets and government aircraft that took the rich and powerful to Davos

Private jets and other VIP aircraft at an air base near Zurich on Tuesday. ENNIO LEANZA / AFP 2026-01-24T11:17:01.229Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Some of the world's fanciest aircraft descended on Switzerland this week. Business Insider tracked some of the most important private jets and government aircraft. We've previously toured ones similar to Elon Musk's Gulfstream G650, among others. Some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people traveled to Switzerland this week, to attend the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.That meant some of the world's fanciest aircraft descended on nearby airports, too. Business Insider has been tracking the private jets and government aircraft that arrived there this week.On Monday alone, there were around 160 private jet arrivals from over 40 countries spread across five continents.The majority appeared to land at Zurich Airport, which is 75 miles from Davos. In a press release, the airport said it expected more than 1,000 extra takeoffs and landings due to the WEF. Others landed at Friedrichshafen, over the border with Germany, or St Gallen, also near Lake Constance.From Elon Musk's Gulfstream G650 to Air Force One, here's some of the most impressive aircraft. The most popular private jet was the Gulfstream G650. Elon Musk boarding his Gulfstream G650 in 2023. The same plane arrived in Zurich on Thursday. JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images On Monday, 31 of the 157 private jet arrivals were Gulfstream G650s.Throughout the week in Switzerland, data from JetSpy showed such planes belonging to: Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Blackstone, BlackRock, and JPMorgan Chase. It costs at least $65 million to buy one new. A Gulfstream G650 on display at an airshow. Taylor

Business Insider
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President Trump Might Ban Defense Contractor Dividends. What Does That Mean for Investors?
investment

President Trump Might Ban Defense Contractor Dividends. What Does That Mean for Investors?

No doubt about it -- President Donald Trump spooked a lot of investors in defense stocks earlier this month. Writing on Truth Social about "exorbitant and unjustifiable" executive compensation in the defense industry, "massive Dividends," and "massive Stock Buybacks," all paid "at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment," the president declared that "no Executive should be allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars." Furthermore, he promised to "not permit Dividends or Stock Buybacks for Defense Companies" until a long list of alleged defense contractor wrongs were righted. "NEW and MODERN Production Plants" must be built, "both for delivering and maintaining" military hardware. And the speed of "maintenance and repair of Equipment, once sold ... must be immediately enhanced." Image source: Getty Images. Essentially, the president offered a stick to go along with the carrot of proposing that Congress increase the defense budget to $1.5 trillion. The extra money contractors will receive (assuming Congress approves the increase) must be invested in improving their businesses -- not passed along to executives in the form of fatter paychecks, nor to shareholders as dividends and stock buybacks. And just in case you weren't sure if he was serious, the president proceeded to sign an executive order to this effect. What the order says On Jan. 7, the same date as the Truth Social post, the White House issued a "fact sheet" describing the executive order on defense dividends and share buybacks. It clearly laid out the rationale of the order in either/or fashion, ordering defense contractors "to stop ... putting stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions ahead of production capacity, innovation, and on-time delivery for America's military." But here's the critical point for investors: It doesn't do that yet. According to the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is first directed to "identify" defense contractors that "underperform, fail

The Motley Fool
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Student-loan borrowers are facing debt-relief whiplash under Trump
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Student-loan borrowers are facing debt-relief whiplash under Trump

President Donald Trump's administration is creating uncertainty for student-loan borrowers. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 2026-01-24T08:11:01.280Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Trump's administration announced a pause on wage garnishment and tax refund seizure for defaulted student-loan borrowers. At the same time, thousands of borrowers are waiting for debt relief through income-based repayment plans to be processed. The uncertainty is making it difficult for borrowers to financially prepare. If there's one thing student-loan borrowers are familiar with, it's uncertainty — and there's a lot of that right now. Around the time it was set to take effect in early January, President Donald Trump's Department of Education announced that it was pausing wage garnishment and tax refund seizures for defaulted student-loan borrowers. This gives borrowers behind on payments more time to find a way back to good standing, but it's unclear how much time they'll have.As to when that pause will lift, not even servicers appear to know. An employee at a major student-loan servicer told Business Insider that they received communications about the pause just days before it was announced to the public, and they do not know when garnishment and treasury offsets will resume. While the pause is good news for borrowers and provides them with relief as tax season commences, student-loan forgiveness backlogs continue to weigh on the thousands waiting for their relief to be processed. A recent court filing from the Department of Education said that 734,221 income-driven repayment applications were pending as of December 31, 2025, and that 3,400 discharges were approved in December.The department wrote in its filing that litig

Business Insider
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IndyCar Confirms Discussions With President Trump For Washington Race
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IndyCar Confirms Discussions With President Trump For Washington Race

BusinessSportsMoneyIndyCar Confirms Discussions With President Trump For Washington RaceByBruce Martin,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I have been chasing race cars since the first Michigan 500 in 1981.Follow AuthorJan 23, 2026, 11:46pm ESTThe famed National Mall could be the site of an IndyCar Series race proposed for August 21, 2026. IndyCar is in discussions with President Trump and the Department of Transportation. (Photo by Mohammad Reza Mousavi / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMAD REZA MOUSAVI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)Middle East Images/AFP via Getty ImagesIndyCar officials confirmed Friday evening the series has been in ongoing discussions with President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy about an IndyCar Series race around the National Mall in Washington, DC for August 23.An IndyCar spokesman told me that while discussions are ongoing, there is still a long way to go before it becomes a reality. He gave me the following statement:“We are actively exploring the feasibility of a race in the nation’s capital in recognition of America’s 250th birthday. This would be an opportunity to celebrate a historic milestone for our country with an exciting and patriotic event. As you can imagine, clearing all the hurdles necessary to organize a race in Washington D.C. is a highly complex matter.”The centerpiece of the NTT IndyCar Series is the famed Indianapolis 500, which will be held for the 110th time on May 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.IndyCar Has Some High-Powered SupportThe IndyCar confirmation came a few hours after President Trump released a post along with an AI-generated video of a race around the most famous monuments in America’s Capital City on Truth Social. The video featured fans around the National Mall and drivers speeding through a Washington, D.C., street course.FOX News released a story on its website Friday afternoon confi

Forbes
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