Common Defense Blasts Trump’s Plan to Gut the VA: A Shameful Betrayal of Veterans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2025
PRESS CONTACT: press@commondefense.us
This attack on the VA is not just about jobs—it’s about lives.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Common Defense, the nation’s largest grassroots veterans organization, issued a scathing rebuke of the Trump administration’s recently leaked plan to slash more than 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This reckless move would devastate veteran healthcare, deepen the veteran unemployment crisis, and dismantle the hard-earned benefits that millions of veterans rely on.
“We fought for a nation that promised to take care of us and now Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda are gutting the system many veterans depend on for their healthcare and benefits,” said Naveed Shah, an Iraq Veteran (US Army) and Common Defense’s Political Director. “This isn’t just a budget cut, it’s a broken promise to every one of us who served, and a kick in the teeth of every VA staffer, many of whom are veterans, too, who will lose their livelihoods. I don’t want to hear Trump talking about how he ‘supports the troops’ after this - he hates the troops.”
This attack on the VA is not just about jobs—it’s about lives. Veterans already face long wait times due to staffing shortages. Cutting tens of thousands of VA workers will leave veterans without the healthcare and support they were promised after hanging their uniform up. It’s a deliberate effort to dismantle the VA, push veterans into for-profit healthcare schemes, and leave them at the mercy of private insurance companies.
To add insult to injury, when asked about veterans being fired from the federal government, Trump’s own attorney dismissed the outcry, callously stating, “Perhaps they’re not fit to have a job at this moment.” This is the same Trump who called fallen service members “suckers” and “losers.” The same Trump who dodged the draft. The same Trump who tried to rip away VA funding while giving tax breaks to billionaires.
“This is what MAGA extremism looks like: gutting the institutions that take care of veterans while giving handouts to the wealthy,” said Joanna Sweatt, an Iraq veteran (USMC) and Common Defense’s Organizing Director. “Trump and his enablers are attacking the very people who risked their lives for this country. Veterans see through his lies, and we will not be silent.”
Common Defense is mobilizing veterans across the country to fight back. We refuse to stand by while Trump and his MAGA cronies dismantle the VA, dishonor our service, and throw veterans onto the unemployment line.
We call on every veteran, every military family member, and every patriot who truly believes in supporting those who served: Make it clear that we see this administration’s attempt to rip away our hard-earned benefits to bankroll their billionaire pals and would-be tyrants—and we will not let it stand. Not on our watch.
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.