Trump's executive orders cause 'chaos' at the VA, some staffers say

Nearly a dozen VA employees working in various capacities across the U.S. spoke with NBC News about how the changes have already affected their jobs.

Many of the employees, particularly those who work in VA medical centers, said the executive orders have already negatively affected staff morale.

They fear the impact will be felt by the country’s 9 million veterans.

The VA says it worked with the White House and the Office of Personnel Management to exempt more than 300,000 essential positions that provide health care and other vital services.

A VA pharmacist fears the policy flip-flopping combined with the fact that VA positions generally pay less on average than comparable positions in the private sector will make hiring more difficult.

A psychologist in Texas says her team could be laid off by the end of the year .

Transgender Navy veteran Lindsay Church , who uses they/them pronouns and served in the Navy for four years , said their VA medical record changed to only show their “birth sex” A researcher described the Trump administration’s attempted cuts to research funding through the National Institutes of Health as “the biggest blow” The NIH cuts were temporarily blocked by a judge this week , but if they go through, it will affect their studies.