A Second Trump Term Could End the Department of Veterans Affairs

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a Moms For Liberty political event in Washington, D.C. on August 30, 2024. Tom Brenner/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Thanks to the conservative Supreme Court, thousands of Veterans Affairs Department rules and regulations are now vulnerable to court challenges, a scenario that could be ignited by a new Trump administration.

As a young political staffer, one of the first hard lessons I learned was that in politics, there are no coincidences. During Donald Trump‘s term as president, his administration’s push to expand private health care for veterans through the VA Mission Act sparked significant controversy.

Although Trump framed the law as fulfilling his campaign promise to offer veterans more “choice” in their health care, many major veterans service organizations saw it as a step toward privatizing the VA. They feared that the expansion of private care, which was estimated to cost billions, would drain resources from the VA’s facilities and degrade the quality of care veterans relied on.

This clash between Republicans and the veteran services organizations, centered around ensuring the law was implemented in line with congressional intent, aiming to protect the integrity of the VA system from being overshadowed by the private sector.

Seven years after the VA Mission Act was passed, reviews have been mixed from veterans, and the VA Office of Inspector General has been critical. Between October 2023 and April 2024, the number of new patients waiting more than 20 days for primary care dropped by 19 percent, reflecting the VA’s efforts to improve access to timely health care services. Additionally, the number of new patients waiting longer than 20 days for mental health care saw a 9 percent decrease. While these are improvements, they fall far short of what the MISSION Act promised.

Many veterans have voiced their frustrations with the MISSION Act, citing a lack of quality providers in their communities and the VA’s strict rules — such as canceling more than one appointment leading to outright denial of claims. Some providers can be miles from where veterans live, or even in other states.

In April, the VA’s inspector general found significant shortcomings in the Veterans Health Administration’s process for identifying health care providers who were removed due to policy violations related to safe and appropriate care. This failure led to both the inclusion of ineligible providers and the exclusion of eligible ones from the VA Community Care Program, prompting the inspector general to recommend a review of the criteria and processes used for such exclusions.

Now, with a Trump-dominated Supreme Court overturning its past “Chevron deference,” the VA faces a second major blow to its status as the only public health care system in America. This decision fundamentally alters the way federal agencies operate. The Chevron doctrine, established in 1984, allowed agencies to interpret ambiguous laws within their jurisdiction without constant judicial interference. Its removal is far more than a legal technicality — it carries immediate and severe consequences, especially for the millions of veterans who rely on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for their benefits and health care.

The VA, like many other federal agencies, was empowered by Chevron to interpret complex and often ambiguous laws passed by Congress and translate them into actionable policies and health care doctrines. Chevron allowed the agency to adapt to new challenges and ensure veterans received the support they needed. Without Chevron, every interpretation the VA makes is now open to judicial review, paving the way for an avalanche of legal challenges that could overwhelm the system and delay or deny services to veterans. This legal uncertainty threatens the VA’s ability to fulfill its mission to provide specialized health care to veterans.

This shift in the legal landscape also plays directly into the hands of private health care interests, which have long sought to privatize the VA and its $325 billion budget, and $222 million in mandatory spending for fiscal year 2025. The VA is specifically designed to serve those who have served our country, and address their unique needs — from combat-related injuries to mental health issues. A VA health care system that is prevented from making its own rules and regulations is useless to veterans and undermines the America’s promise to care for those who “have borne the battle.”

With backing from a second Trump administration, private health care companies will no doubt see an opportunity. They no longer need to battle organizations like the American Legion or VFW for control of the VA — they just need to convince the courts that the VA doesn’t have the legal authority to care for veterans. With thousands of rules and regulations interpreted by the VA on behalf of Congress open to challenge, the VA could be stopped in its tracks. The legal chaos following this would end the VA as we know it.

The third and final blow to the VA would come if, as the Chevron ruling suggests, the department loses its legal authority to make new rules altogether. Given the varying timelines for passing veterans’ legislation — ranging from 50 years for something as comprehensive as the PACT Act to help veterans exposed to toxic chemicals, to months for cost-of-living adjustments — Congress simply wouldn’t be able to draft bills and regulations quickly enough to keep pace with the VA’s daily demands.

The future of the Department of Veterans Affairs hangs in the balance. A second Trump term, coupled with the dismantling of Chevron deference, could cripple the VA’s ability to serve those who have sacrificed for our nation.

The agency’s capacity to interpret and implement laws is essential for meeting the unique and complex needs of veterans. Without this authority, the VA could become entangled in endless legal battles, leaving veterans caught in the crossfire of privatization efforts and regulatory paralysis.

This is not just a legal issue — it is a profound moral and ethical challenge. The VA stands as the nation’s promise to its veterans, and that promise must be upheld. The question we face is whether that promise will endure, or whether it will be sacrificed in the name of deregulation and privatization, leaving millions of veterans without the care and support they have earned.