'Slap in the face': Veterans group shreds Trump VA cuts on Memorial Day
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to a Marine sentry as he exits Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 25, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
Political action committee VoteVets spent Memorial Day targeting the administration of President Donald Trump over significant cuts it imposed at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
"Gutting VA will result in delayed appointments and substandard care, leading directly to more veteran deaths. In fact, as reports and internal documents now prove, Elon Musk's wrecking ball is causing systems to fail, putting veterans at risk," said Kayla Williams, Iraq Veteran and senior policy advisor at VoteVets, in a post on X. "It's a slap in the face to all who have worn the uniform in defense of our nation."
In addition to cutting agency contracts, Newsweek reports administration officials are reducing the VA workforce by 82,000 staffers, which is nearly 20 percent of the agency. In early May, Federal News Network reported more than 14,000 VA employees applied to leave their jobs through separation incentives the administration pushed onto employees. Most of these jobs were in health-care positions, which could lengthen veteran wait times and service for health issues.
READ MORE: A veteran tells Trump 'to go straight to hell'
Allegedly to counter resulting wait times, the department under DOGE and Trump changed the rules on veterans’ health care access, giving patients easier access to non-VA health care in some cases. Critics warn, however, that the federal government’s eagerness to offload patients to private clinics will weaken the VA system.
Naveed A. Shah, a political director at Common Defense, a grassroots movement of progressive Veterans, told Newsweek that while the rule change was welcome, "increased reliance on community care would divert resources from the Veterans healthcare agency, potentially weakening the system and risking further privatization of this important public service."
Newsweek reports American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley warned the “The VA has been severely understaffed for many years, resulting in longer wait times for veterans in need.”
“The DOGE plunder of career VA employees, adding to the illegal mass firings of thousands of probationary employees, can only make matters worse. Veterans and their families will suffer unnecessarily, and the will of Congress will be ignored," Kelley said.
READ MORE: Struggles to 'even finish a sentence': Behind the obvious signs of Trump’s growing dementia
Read the full Newsweek report here.
