This story has been updated to reflect a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the firing of federal employees. It also adds comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Military veterans across the country are fighting proposed layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which they say will negatively impact veterans and their families.
VA Secretary Doug Collins said last month the agency intends to layoff more than 70,000 employees. The Associated Press and other sources put the number around 80,000.
"The federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people," Collins said in a video announcing the layoff plan. "We'll be making major changes, so get used to it."
Veterans and advocates have organized protests across the country, including one in San Diego, led by the local chapter of Veterans for Peace.
Cliff deWolff, a 20-year Navy veteran, said the rush to cut VA staff reveals something about the Trump Administration.
"They don't care," deWolff said. "That's what it boils down to. They don't care."
DeWolff said he was injured in combat by shrapnel and receives disability benefits from the VA. Until recently, he also received counseling.
"I've seen people die," deWolff said. "I have known people who have committed suicide. I suffer from PTSD. And the counselor that I had? She's no longer available to me."
In February, the VA laid off about 1,500 probationary employees and put others on administrative leave. They are among thousands of probationary federal workers fired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the agency empowered by President Trump to slash the federal government.
Federal workers unions are suing the administration over the firings, but the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the firings to go forward while the case plays out in the lower courts.
Livier Lozaro, the commander of the Don Diego VFW in San Diego's Logan Heights neighborhood, said it's not just VA firings that are hurting veterans. Because veterans also make up about 30% of the federal workforce, DOGE's cuts across the government harm veterans, she said.
"These decisions have been carried out with cold indifference," she said at the protest. "Our leaders love to talk about honoring veterans, but when it comes to acting, we see the opposite."
Military veterans provided a big chunk of President Trump's support in the 2024 election. According to an Edison Research exit poll, 64% of people with military experience voted for Trump, compared with 34% for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sarah Czech of Oceanside, California spent 10 years in the Marine Corps and said she relies on the VA for care. She said cutting the VA left her feeling betrayed by the government.
"I know that's the way everyone its feeling right now. It's not only me," Czech said.
Czech is the co-chair of the Veteran and Veteran Family Committee for the Forward Party in California. The Forward Party is a centrist political party started by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
"There's a problem when Americans by and large, are saying - not just veterans, but Americans in general - that the political system is causing them stress and anxiety every day in their lives."
According to Collins, the goal of the VA's layoffs is to get the agency to its 2019 staffing level. That was before the VA beefed up staffing to meet the demands of the 2022 PACT Act — hailed as the largest expansion of veterans benefits in a generation.
Collins said the cuts will optimize care and won't impact patients. But some veterans are skeptical.
"Wait times are pretty long now, as is," said Don Diego VFW vice commander Angel Garcia. "So cutting jobs and and laying off people and stuff like that is going to affect all of us across the board."
A VA statement said "mission critical positions" are exempt from the cuts. The agency has deemed more than 300,000 positions essential.
"We're not talking about reducing medical staff or claims processors," the VA statement said. "We're talking about reducing bureaucracy and inefficiencies that are getting in the way of customer convenience and service to veterans."
This story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans.
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