My grandfather, a WWII veteran, was one of my greatest heroes growing up. I joined the military, in part, because of his example of true patriotism and love for this country. Because of his example, I believed that service to our country would always be honored with care and commitment — a promise embodied in the work of Veterans Affairs.
Recently, I opened the news and, with a heavy heart, read that the Trump administration is moving to slash 80,000 VA jobs nationwide, gutting the crucial system that veterans — including myself — rely on for healthcare, disability benefits and support.
This decision would return the VA to pre-2019 staffing levels — when the system was already overwhelmed by an aging veteran population. Before the PACT Act expanded services, veterans faced denied claims, excessive wait times, staff shortages and backlogged disability claims that stretched on for months or even years. Rolling back to those staffing levels ignores the past and repeats the same failures all over again.
Imagine a bridge built over years of sacrifice, connecting veterans to critical services. The bipartisan PACT Act was a hard-fought victory for those exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and radiation at K2. But with tens of thousands of VA jobs on the chopping block, that progress will be undone. What good is the right to care if no one is left to provide it?
More than 25% of VA employees are veterans themselves — men and women who understand, firsthand, the challenges of military service. Slashing staff may look like fiscal responsibility on paper, but in reality, it means longer wait times, lost expertise and more bureaucratic hurdles.
In Utah, where the Salt Lake VA is a critical hub, veterans already endure backlogs and delays. With 132,960 veterans in our state, these cuts will push an already strained system past its breaking point.
And if these cuts were really about efficiency, why fire the VA’s independent inspector general, Michael Missal, who saved the agency $45 billion by rooting out waste and fraud? Removing both frontline workers and oversight weakens the system at the expense of those who served.
The administration’s approach is not just reckless — it is a betrayal. It prioritizes private sector profits over veterans’ care, balancing the budget on the backs of those who risked everything. Veterans are not government waste.
This is not a political debate. It is a moral one. If you believe in keeping our nation’s promises, act now. Call your Utah congressional delegation. Demand answers. The men and women who served will not forget who turned their backs on them.