D-Day rally in Idaho protests proposed cuts to Veterans Affairs | Opinion
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise veterans rallied June 6 to protest proposed VA staffing and budget cuts.
- The Department of Government Efficiency had plans to eliminate 83,000 VA jobs.
- Committee proposed an $83B VA budget increase, but medical care remains uncertain.
James Peterson has Stage 4 cancer, likely caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. He’s in hospice now and uses an oxygen tank.
But he wasn’t going to miss a rally Friday afternoon in front of the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
He was taking part in the Unite for Veterans rally in conjunction with a national rally held at the same time in Washington, D.C., to protest proposed cuts to the VA.
“I don’t know what veterans are going to do if they keep screwing with things,” Peterson told me. “We made a promise, they made a promise, and now they’re breaking their promise,” he said as he broke down in tears.
He said he’s received excellent care at the Boise VA, which he said has saved his life twice, from pneumonia and sepsis, and is now providing care for his cancer.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that as part of cuts by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the Department of Veterans Affairs was planning to cut 83,000 jobs, slashing employment by over 17% at the federal agency that provides health care for millions of veterans, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Veterans rally coincides with D-Day
The date for Friday’s rally, June 6, is significant: It’s the anniversary of D-Day, the day that Allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy, France, marking the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe.
About 70 people lined Fort Street in front of the Boise VA center, drawing honks and waves from most of the passersby. A couple of knuckleheads shouted “Go Trump,” apparently in celebration of cutting funding for programs that help veterans. (A passing Tesla cybertruck drew a round of boos from the protesters.)
Protesters held signs that read, “Hands off VA,” “Cut DOGE, Not VA,” “Veterans fought for us, now we fight for them,” “No King! Veteran, not loser” and “Our vets are not suckers or losers.”
Boise VA is a ‘phenomenal center’
Nancy Daniels, holding a sign that read “Our vets deserve a fully staffed VA,” is an Air Force veteran who served seven years during the Vietnam War and spent 20 years working as a medical service worker at the Boise VA before retiring in 2023.
“This is a phenomenal center,” she told me. “I am proud to be a veteran. It just breaks my heart to see what’s happening.”
She said Idaho’s congressional delegation showed up several years ago to support the opening a women’s wellness center and clinic at the Boise VA.
“They supported us, and now they’re doing this,” she said. “Shame on them.”
Earlier this year, I interviewed one VA employee from Boise who was fired from his job in Washington, D.C., shortly after he had been hired. His job was to help connect veterans with services.
These cuts are not going to fly with the American public, Jim Jones, former Idaho attorney general and state Supreme Court chief justice who helped to organize Friday’s local rally, told me. Jones spent 401 days in a heavy artillery division in the Army in Vietnam.
“They’ve made plans for draconian cuts to the VA,” said Jones, who was wearing an Army uniform that he hadn’t worn since August 1969. “They want to get rid of 83,000 staffers, and it’s just not going to work. It’s a major betrayal of our veteran population, and I don’t think the American people are willing to put up with it.”
New VA budget increase
There is good news — sort of.
Despite DOGE cuts, the House Appropriations Committee, of which U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, is a member, included an $83 billion increase in its fiscal 2026 VA spending bill to about $453 billion, according to military.com.
That would be good news — if Congress approves it and if Trump doesn’t arbitrarily cut it.
That said, medical care would get only a 4% bump in the committee’s approved budget, and the plan includes allowing veterans to see private doctors.
Raymond O’Dell, of Boise, who is trying to form a Veterans for Peace chapter in Idaho, said he’s worried about plans to privatize VA medical services.
“I just don’t think the public truly understands what would be lost if we privatize the VA,” he said. “Veterans are not where the cuts need to be made. We should find cuts elsewhere. We made a promise to our veterans.”
For Peterson, that promise is sacrosanct.
“We signed a check,” he said, breaking down again, “to put our lives on the line for the Constitution, and these nippleheads in Washington, D.C., who have never served or pretend that they served have no idea what it is they have to do. They promised us their support, and they need to take care of those who have served this country.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
