Earlier this month, veterans protested at the United States’ state capitol buildings in each state. The protests stemmed from a movement called “Fourteenth Now!” which urged veterans to protest at the National Mall in DC, but it was expanded to state capitols. The protests predominantly took place on Mar. 14, “symbolizing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits those who previously held office from retaining any public office if they have participated in an insurrection or coup. The movement claims that Trump is an illegitimate president due to his involvement with the Jan. 6 capitol riot following President Joe Biden’s election in 2021.
However, many veterans’ protest efforts were largely in response to President Donald Trump’s administration cutting jobs for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), specifically due to the dependence that many veterans have on the healthcare the department provides.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, is responsible for many of the federal agency cuts in this administration. DOGE plans to continue its slashing of federal aid and jobs, but the administration has assured veterans that their healthcare benefits would not change.
In the Department of Veterans Affairs alone, DOGE has planned to cut around 80,000 jobs, according to an internal Veterans Affairs memo. Rep. Mike Bost, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, assured Americans that “essential jobs” were not being cut and that he would be alerted if they were.
Additionally, veterans have become unsettled due to the fact that more than 25% of the department’s employees are veterans.
The Associated Press covered veterans speaking out against these cuts before the protests took place. According to AP News, one Gulf War veteran named Greg Bafundo said, “They’re going to put guys like me and my fellow Marines that rely on the VA in the ground.” His concern echoes the concerns of many.
Even before the protests on Mar. 14, veterans have been protesting at their state and local level governments, attending town hall meetings and speaking out.
The Trump administration has framed the cuts as a way to help veterans, claiming that they have not been able to receive proper care since the expansion of the VA in 2019. Others have more critical views on the cuts, saying that it will inevitably put more veterans at risk.
Another Trump administration call regarding Veterans Affairs back-to-office order, mental health professionals expressed their concerns to NPR news.
Their telehealth calls with veterans in need of mental services would have to be conducted in open areas at the Veterans Affairs office, which professionals worried would be a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Officials claimed that the office would work to stay in line with proper HIPAA guidelines despite workers’ concerns.
Although the protests were widespread, the coverage of them was lacking.
Students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with varying degrees of civic participation and knowledge claimed to have not heard about the protests, and many major news websites did not cover them.
Emily Guidry, a freshman electrical engineering major, said that she was “just now hearing about [the protests].” She added that she keeps up with the news on a weekly basis and was “surprised” that she had not heard about them.
Adisyn Guidry, a freshman English major, also did not hear about the protests.
Regarding her news knowledge, she said, “I go through phases. So like, there will be times where I’m constantly reading the news, and then I feel like I get burnt out just because of how much is going on right now, especially. So then I’ll take a break from it for a while. So I’d say I’ve been on one of those breaks […] probably since February.”
When asked if her lack of hearing about the protests surprised her, she responded, “Yeah, that does surprise me, because even though I might not be looking at the news, I’m active on social media, and I’d imagine that people would be talking about that because that’s a pretty big deal.”
Although people were unaware of the protests going on, veterans still showed up to the state capitols and the National Mall with the hopes of reaching those in power.