Emily Erroa, an Army veteran who was fired from the Energy Department last month, called Habba's comments "ridiculous" and "insulting."

Counselor to the president Alina Habba said some veterans pushed out of their federal jobs may not want to come into work.

"We are going to care for them in the right way," Habba said. "But perhaps they're not fit to have a job at this moment or not willing to come to work."

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is this year’s designated survivor, according to a White House official, retreating from Washington to an undisclosed location during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening.

More federal workers are left without jobs as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announces a swatch of layoffs.

There is one notable absence in the House chamber on Tuesday night for President Trump’s joint address: Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, is the “designated survivor,