Friends —

Less than two months into his presidency, Trump and Tom Collins got rid of close to 20,000 VA staff. They made no secret about their plans, too: Another 80,000 were on the chopping block.

I fought them on that relentlessly, and held up all of Collins’ political appointees for months over it. If he can’t do his job without a half dozen people, how is he supposed to do it with another 80,000 less staff?

Yesterday, they blinked. The 80,000 number is gone, and it’s down to 30,000 VA staff total. That’s better, but it is absolutely not good enough. Here’s why:

Donald Trump and Tom Collins are STILL in charge of the largest reduction in force the Department of Veterans Affairs has ever seen. These are doctors and counselors and researchers who spend 100% of their time serving veterans, and Trump can’t get them out the door fast enough. Veterans trusted this guy and he is stabbing them in the back.

Trump got his parade. He got his budget. He got the funding he wanted for mass deportations without due process, his trillions in tax cuts, write offs for private jets, the whole thing.

He got all that and stiffed the people who fought for this country. Veterans who depend on food assistance, mortgage support, Medicaid have all been told to take a hike. There’s nobody to help disabled vets move from one side of a VA facility to another. Nobody’s answering the phones when a vet calls their VA to see an oncologist. For God’s sake, cancer labs are starting to crowdfund to keep their research going. Even the Veterans Crisis Line isn’t safe!

I went through a lot in Iraq, but I never forget how fortunate I am to be where I am right now. A lot of my friends never made it home, and a lot more took their own lives after they came back. There are millions of veterans worried about what’s happening to the VA right now. They don’t know what they’re going to do, and they need our help.

I’m going to use whatever tools I have at my disposal to stand up to Trump, and I need you with me.

Please: Join me and demand that Trump keep his promises to veterans and stop his attacks on the VA. We owe veterans a whole lot better than this.

ADD YOUR NAME: [link removed]

Semper Fi,

Ruben
 


You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]


Use of military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform do not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.