Veterans Benefits

Are Hard-Earned Veterans Benefits at Risk?

U.S. military veterans are losing ground under the second Trump administration. Targeted staffing cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies are hitting veterans, who comprise 30 percent of the federal labor force, hard. Veterans’ services are also being reduced, and efforts are under way to privatize veterans’ health care. While nearly two-thirds of veterans voted for President Trump in 2024, Democrats have a unique opportunity to more aggressively champion the needs of veterans – particularly in military-friendly states like North Carolina -- and help turn the tables in the 2026 midterm elections.

Talking Points

• Exit polls for the 2024 Presidential Election showed U.S. military veterans overwhelmingly supported President Trump, with 65 percent of the vote. (Source ↗).

• Despite the strong support, many Republican members of Congress today face pushback in their districts as a result of proposed cuts and restructuring proposals that could affect veterans’ hard-earned VA benefits and impact medical treatments, housing stability, and paperwork requirements. (Source ↗)

• Reports indicate many veterans feel betrayed after being fired from federal jobs, including some who voted for Trump, and have angrily confronted Republican lawmakers.  (Source ↗)

• The longest-lasting government shutdown that began on October 1 was particularly hard on veterans. As of October 30, some 37,000 VA workers had either been furloughed or were working without pay, delays in the processing of benefit claims became common, and over 50 regional VA benefits offices were closed. Some veterans services -- such as transition into civilian life briefings and career counseling for enrollees -- were also unavailable. Fortunately, core services like VA medical care as well as compensation, pension, education and housing were mostly unaffected during the shutdown. (Source ↗)

• While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of veterans laid off at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), reports indicate that more than 2,400 probationary employees, including veterans and military spouses, were laid off as part of a broader restructuring effort. This is part of a larger plan to reduce the VA workforce by as many as 80,000 positions by August to streamline the federal government, according to the American Legion. (Source ↗)

• Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins insisted during his confirmation process that VA benefits would not be cut despite the staffing cull. (Source ↗)

• But dozens of internal emails obtained by the nonprofit investigative group ProPublica ↗ in an April report revealed a far different reality. Doctors and others at VA hospitals and clinics across the country have been sending often desperate messages to headquarters detailing how cuts will harm veterans’ care. (Source ↗)

Background

• There is a lot at stake for North Carolina. North Carolina is considered a military-friendly state due to its large military presence, robust support for veterans, and various initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining military personnel and their families. The state boasts a significant number of military installations, including Fort Bragg, the largest military base in the U.S., and has a strong network of organizations and resources dedicated to supporting the military community.

• North Carolina had the 6th highest veteran population in the country in 2024, at more than 835,000. (Source ↗)

• Nearly 30% of North Carolina veterans are disabled (Source ↗).

• Veterans are more likely to experience mental health challenges than the general population, with PTSD as a common mental health condition affecting 30% of Vietnam veterans and 12% of Gulf War veterans. Current data show an average of 17.6 veteran suicides per day. Suicide remains the second-leading cause of death among veterans under 45 years old. (Source ↗)

• Nearly 30 percent of all federal workers are veterans, half of whom are disabled. This means that veterans, who make up 6.1 percent of the U.S. population, are disproportionately affected by federal worker cuts. (Source ↗)

• Federal law requires employers to give veterans an advantage in hiring over people who have not served in the military. Under the 1944 Veterans Preference Act, employers should hire veterans over other candidates and retain veterans over other employees during layoffs. (Source ↗)

• Cuts to the federal workforce are also affecting medical care for veterans↗. The Veterans Health Administration workforce constitutes 90 percent of the VA’s 482,000 workers ↗ , so cuts to VA workers mean cuts to health care. These cuts come at a time when veterans’ health care needs are increasing. The VA enrolled 400,000 veterans ↗ in its benefits system from March 2023 through March 2024, 30 percent more than the prior year. (Source ↗)

• In Trump’s cuts to social services, the country’s Veterans Crisis Line, which both the VA and the Department of Health and Human Services oversee, is losing employees to layoffs, despite existing staffing shortages. (Source ↗)

• An estimated 800 to 900 of the 1,130 crisis-line workers have always worked remotely, so ending remote work options will further undermine staffing. (Source ↗)

• The ProPublica report mentioned under "Talking Points" ↗ noted doctors and other health officials at VA painted a portrait of “chaotic retrenchment” at an agency that just three years ago was mandated by Congress through the PACT Act to expand care and benefits for veterans facing cancer and other issues after exposure to Agent Orange, burn pits, or other toxins. They have been left scrambling and short-staffed amid an ever-shifting series of cuts, hiring freezes, and other edicts from the White House.

Impact / Recommendations 

Individual Action

• Everyday citizens can help protect U.S. service veterans' benefits by staying informed, advocating for veterans' rights, supporting organizations that assist veterans (e.g., Disabled American Veterans [DAV], Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW], or the American Legion), participating in events that honor veterans and raise awareness about their needs, and reporting suspected fraud or abuse.

• Specifically, individuals can volunteer with veteran service organizations, donate to charities supporting veterans, contact their elected officials to express support for veterans' benefits and advocate for policies that protect and expand those benefits, and educate themselves and others about veteran-related issues.

Democratic Party / Collective Action

The 2024 Democratic Party platform demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting veterans, ensuring access to quality health care, expanding benefits, and addressing key issues like homelessness and mental health. Among other things, it:

• Called for strengthening VA care by fully funding inpatient and outpatient care, long-term care, and upgrading medical facility infrastructure.

• Opposed attempts to privatize VA healthcare, fearing higher costs, longer wait times, and diminished care quality.

• Advocated for the expansion of benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, like burn pits and Agent Orange.

• Pledged to fight against proposals that would cut veterans' disability benefits or negatively impact their access to care.

During the House Appropriations Committee markup of the 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies funding bill in June, House Democrats highlighted how the bill fails to fully meet veterans’ needs and falls short of adequately funding military construction projects.

Among the many issues with the bill Democrats noted that it “Enacts the Project 2025 goal to privatize medical care for veterans by transferring billions to private hospitals and clinics, which will only lead to higher costs, longer wait times, poor communication and coordination, and diminished quality of care.”  (Source ↗)

At a series of town halls in the spring of 2025, veterans angrily confronted Republican members of Congress as they defended the cuts made under Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Congressional Democrats also plotted confirmation holds, legislative obstruction and unofficial hearings in an attempt to create public outrage over the administration’s changes to veterans’ programs and benefits.

Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., noted in April: “President Trump has already fired more veterans than any president in the history of the United States … and they have already told the country that [VA leaders] are going to lay off another 80,000 people at the VA. There’s a war on veterans.”  (Source ↗)

With an eye on the midterm elections, VoteVets, a left-leaning veterans' advocacy group, has been launching video ads that feature veterans sharing their stories of being fired and accusing congressional members of doing "absolutely nothing." The ads are directed to five potential swing districts held by Republicans who are veterans themselves. (Source ↗)

1. Support for Trump among veterans in the 2024 elections is confounding in light of a number of insulting comments he has made about veterans and active-duty members, such as calling fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers,” disparaging wounded veterans, insulting John McCain’s military service and POW status, questioning military sacrifices (e.g., ”I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”), belittling generals, minimizing military injuries, threatening and actually using the military at home against American citizens, and using the military as a political prop. (Source ↗)