Veterans protest against Trump cuts at DC rally: 'Promises made to us have come under attack' [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Fri 6 Jun 2025 17.09 EDT
Last modified on Fri 6 Jun 2025 18.29 EDT
A flurry of red, white and blue American flags fluttered across the National Mall on Friday as more than 5,000 military veterans and their allies descended on Washington to protest against the planned elimination of 80,000 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the cancellation of hundreds of contracts for veterans services with community organizations.
“I hope that in the future veterans will be able to get their benefits,” said David Magnus, a navy veteran who decided to travel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after his doctor told him she was quitting during a recent mental health appointment. Before Donald Trump returned to office in January, “the VA was good”, he said, but since then medical staff had faced harassment that puts the entire system at risk. “It used to be, you’d call and get an answer,” he said. “Now, so much is going on that they don’t know where to put you.”
Organizers said that in addition to the march in Washington, there were more than 200 corresponding actions across the country, from watch parties to vigils held at VA clinics. Many veterans told the Guardian they came to the nation’s capital on their own after hearing about the rally online.
The VA secretary, Doug Collins, has said the cuts are designed to trim bureaucratic bloat and will have no impact on veterans’ healthcare or benefits. Reporting by the Guardian last month found the agency, which provides healthcare to more than 9 million veterans, has already been plunged into crisis. Across the nation, appointments have been cancelled, hospital units closed, the physical safety of patients put at risk.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/dc-veterans-rally-va-program-cuts
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