The acting Veterans Affairs secretary said in a Jan. 21 memo that the requested exemptions cover positions critical to the delivery of health care services.

The VA memo exempts roughly three-quarters of the Veterans Health Administration's roughly 400,000-employee workforce.

The president is throwing the federal government, and the welfare of the men and women who fought for the nation, into chaos

Scope of hiring freeze clarified after U.S. senator and others react to plans by the Minneapolis VA to rescind job offers.

Trump's VA pick, former Rep. Doug Collins, said the VA may be trying to fill positions, but many of those vacancies have gone unfilled for weeks or longer.

The Department of Veterans Affairs can continue to hire new health care workers and those providing critical services to veterans despite a federal hiring freeze ordered by President Donald Trump.