The group that organized a June 6 rally in Washington, DC against what they claim are the Trump administration's cuts in staffing and contracts at the Department of Veterans Affairs say they are pleased with how the event turned out.
“Our message is straightforward: You promised. We served. Now keep your promises to veterans and their families,” retired Marine Lt. Col. and spokesman for Unite For Veterans Joe Plenzer told Connecting Vets. “There is no way Doug Collins can cut 83,000 staff and not adversely impact our benefits and services. We demand a fully funded and staffed VA - equipped to provide the best care. We demand our federal workers be treated with respect.”
“This is just the beginning,” Plenzer added. “Stay tuned.”
Unite For Veterans said the protest was in direct response to recent federal layoffs and firings, budget cuts, and what they describe as Department of Government Efficiency-related efforts to dismantle the VA.
“It was a massive, patriotic, and powerful group of veterans and supporters. We are very proud of our team, our incredible volunteers, and everyone who attended,” said Plenzer.
However, President Donald Trump’s proposed FY2026 budget for VA is $441.3 billion, a 10% increase from FY205. That includes $134.6 billion in discretionary funding and $301.2 billion in mandatory funding.
Organizers had hoped at least 20,000 veterans and their supporters would attend the event on the National Mall, but the crowd size was estimated at 5,000 or less, according to a number of media outlets.
“Many people took off work to be with us. We had a very large crowd in front of the stage and thousands in the trees lining the mall, grabbing some shade,” he told Connecting Vets. “We also had a very large audience watching the livestreams to include 535 Congressional offices through C-Span. We also had more than 70 media hits/articles.”
VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz told Connecting Vets staffing levels across the entire department are being assessed, with the goal of implementing a reduction-in-force that could affect as many as 70,000 people, or 15 percent, of the department’s workforce, but would be accomplished "without making cuts to health care or beneifts to veterans and VA beneficiaries."
According to Kasperowicz, mission-essential jobs like doctors, nurses and claims processors will be maintained, while the number of administrators, advisors and middle management positions will be reduced “to eliminate duplicative, unnecessary layers of management and bureaucracy that do nothing to serve our veterans and actually hinder our mission.”
Plenzer countered that Unite For Veterans is “very concerned watching DOGE hack recklessly away at staffing at other federal departments and agencies and we would be damned if we allowed that same thing to happen to the one federal agency built to support us."
"When Americans send young men and women to fight our wars, they have a duty to care for veterans when we return home," Plenzer told Connecting Vets. "We expect our elected and appointed officials to keep their promises to the men and women who have shouldered the heaviest burdens of our defense and ensured our freedom.”
During the rally, attendees waved signs, wore T-shirts with political messages and held umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as temperatures neared 90 degrees, according to Stars and Stripes.
“I’m convinced the Trump administration wants to privatize the VA, and I am here to support our veterans and the care and services the VA delivers,” Paul Nance, a former Army sergeant and 15-year VA employee, told Stars and Stripes.
Nance described himself as an active member of the American Federation of Government Employees, and he wore a bright red T-shirt showing his membership, according to Stars and Stripes. Dozens of other AFGE members wearing red T-shirts with the union logo also participated in the rally, and the AFGE hosted a crowded visitors' tent to share resources and information,.
The rally also included a number of speeches and a performance by the band Dropkick Murphys.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.