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Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins tore the curtain back on what he called a “frankly partisan Democrat power play” during his appearance on Wake Up America, warning that Washington’s games are now landing squarely on the backs of the men and women who served. He called the behavior cruel and unnecessary, and said the real outrage isn’t on the floor of Congress — it’s the real-world harm being done to veterans trying to rebuild their lives.
Collins said the VA has managed to keep roughly 97 percent of its core operations running through advanced appropriations, but that the remaining 3 percent at risk in a shutdown hits the most vulnerable areas: transition assistance, career counseling, outreach to state and tribal partners, and even permanent headstones at our national cemeteries. Those are not abstract line items — they are lifelines for veterans who come home wounded, unemployed, grieving, or needing help to find a place in civilian life.
Make no mistake: when Democrats treat funding as a bargaining chip, the casualties are American lives and dignity. Collins warned that furloughs and disruptions don’t just hurt service delivery; they throw transitioning troops out of job interviews, delay care, and add stress to veterans already carrying heavy burdens — a reality Democrats apparently think is an acceptable price for political theater.
If anyone doubts Secretary Collins’ credibility on reforming the VA, look at his record of confronting waste and bureaucracy head-on while insisting benefits themselves would not be cut — even as he pursues painful workforce reshaping to redirect dollars to veterans’ care. Those who howl about “cuts” forget that real reform sometimes means trimming dead weight so the mission gets funded; Collins has repeatedly said savings will go back into serving veterans, not into bureaucratic padding.
This moment calls for patriotic clarity: Congress must fund our veterans first and stop the stunts. Conservatives should rally behind leaders like Collins who put veterans over politics, demand the government reopen, and hold the obstructionists accountable for every delay and every hardship foisted on those who wore the uniform. Our veterans deserve better than being collateral damage in a partisan spectacle — and America must not let them down.
