‘Trump is anti-veteran' and other liberal lies

The Hill

09-04-2025

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, in conjunction with the Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration as a whole, is taking historic action to streamline the bloated department's bureaucracy that has severely harmed veterans and their families for years.
In light of their efforts, certain politicians and some in the mainstream media have spread false narratives that President Trump 'is working against veterans.'
One fabrication is that the VA has laid off Veterans Crisis Line responders. As Collins has made clear, however, exactly zero of those positions have been cut. This fear-mongering is meant only to manufacture outrage. It does not reflect the reality of the critical work being done to help veterans.
Logistically speaking, if DOGE is cutting thousands of jobs that constitute waste, then naturally some of those jobs are held by veterans. It does not follow that the Trump administration is 'anti-veteran.' Regardless of what any employee's background is, Trump is delivering on his promise to the American people to cut government waste and end the abuse of taxpayer dollars. Many taxpayers, it turns out, are also veterans.
So far, less than one half of 1 percent of the VA workforce had been cut as of Mar. 1. This is all non-essential personnel. In fact, Collins made clear that his team blocked off 300 positions labeled as 'mission critical' and did not touch a single one. The team has been using a fine-toothed-comb approach to ensure that all cuts are necessary. This is a deliberative, careful and meticulous process, with the goal of delivering transparency and benefits to veterans directly.
Consistent with that mentality, so far, Collins and his team have investigated only 2 percent of VA contracts and found over $900 million dollars of waste — money that is now being put back into patient care and veterans' benefits. ' The VA was paying for PowerPoint slides and meeting notes, for the watering of plants, and consulting contracts to do the work that we should be doing ourselves,' Collins told the New York Post recently. An additional $14 million so far was saved by cutting employees and contracts infusing DEI into the VA.
Additionally, Collins recently cancelled close to $180,000 in subscriptions for Politico Pro, a program that was not even being used. The impact of that cut alone is that the money can now be used to fund one homeless veteran over the next six years. This is what the purpose of the VA should be.
Collins has also started to cut treatment for gender dysphoria. This includes clawing back funds for hormone therapy, surgeries, prosthetic genitals and breasts, hair removal, voice training and other types of so-called 'gender-affirming care.' The millions of dollars saved will instead now be used to treat injured and amputee veterans.
Not only has Collins worked around the clock to streamline the VA bureaucracy and cut out waste, fraud and abuse, he has also already opened new healthcare clinics for veterans in Hamilton, Mont.; Spotsylvania, Va.; Aurora, Colo.; and Ridgewood, N.Y. These clinics are larger and better equipped to help veterans. This is the high-quality care that our veterans deserve. Collins made clear that veterans should not have to navigate the complex bureaucracy of the VA — they should instead have access to flexibility and choice as part of that high-quality care. This is why the secretary is instituting a more community-oriented care mentality within the VA.
The positive effects of these historic accomplishments are already evident across the board, but it will take time for them to be fully felt. This notion that the Trump administration is 'anti-veteran' is not only devoid of substance and fact, but also intentionally engineered to gaslight the American people.
Trump is one of the most pro-veteran presidents this country has seen. Even in his first term, Trump delivered accountability at the VA and made health care and education benefits for veterans more accessible. He signed the VA Mission ACT, making permanent Veterans CHOICE, helped veterans find employment in the civilian workforce, signed the Forever GI Bill allowing veterans to use their benefits to get an education, and placed 40,000 homeless veterans into employment, among other accomplishments. As a result, veterans' trust in the VA increased dramatically.
There is not a single substantive argument to support any false narratives regarding Collins's work of so far. This is because Trump and Collins understand that our veterans, who sacrificed everything to protect this country, deserve better.