Sen. Kaine says Defense Department layoffs 'arbitrary,' hurt vets

First came the so-called "Friday Night Massacre" — the abrupt firing of top brass at the Pentagon — followed by the removal of the top lawyers for the military services. 

And now, the firing of 5,400 Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees.

President Trump's nominee to be the next deputy defense secretary — Stephen Feinberg — faced scrutiny on Tuesday over the cuts during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He said, going forward, workforce reductions will be handled thoughtfully.

"We will carefully look at the cuts, balance and weigh what we need and what we don't, be careful not to cut into mission, and do it in a granular, bottom-up, person-by-person detailed way," he said.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said on Wednesday that the cuts thus far have been arbitrary, and the strategy is not making America great.

"And what it's doing is indiscriminately punishing veterans, so this is ridiculous," he said in an interview with 13News Now.

Kaine pointed to Office of Personnel Management data that shows that veterans comprise approximately 30 % of the total federal workforce, with 53% of them being disabled.

"I'm furious about the way this administration is treating veterans and active duty, and I'm going to be as loud about this every day until they stop what they're doing," he said.

The Defense Department is the largest employer in the United States, with a combined military and civilian workforce of over 2.8 million people.

The DOD has an annual budget of over $800 billion.