Charles Worthington, chief artificial intelligence officer at Department of Veterans Affairs, testifies during a House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2024. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. Digital Service alum is exiting the Department of Veterans Affairs after leading its artificial intelligence and digital modernization initiatives.
Protesters hold signs in solidarity with the American Federation of Government Employees of District 14 at a rally in support of federal workers at the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Pseudonymous declarations from four federal workers paint a picture of a policy “having its intended impact” of politicizing agency work, an attorney for the plaintiffs says.
Eddie Pool told lawmakers it is “highly unlikely” the agency’s IT office would need to rehire employees who left through deferred resignation or early retirement.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins testifies before a Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearings on “Veterans at the Forefront, Focusing on the future at VA,” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, May 6, 2025. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The VA is responsible for 5.2 million veterans with military service-connected disabilities and 4.6 million with general disabilities, per data from 2023.