By Jamie Rowen, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst

Veterans across the United States will gather on June 6, 2025, to protest the Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the slashing of staff and programs throughout the government.

Veteran-led protests will be held at the National Mall, 16 state capitol buildings and over 100 other venues across 43 states.

Veterans are disproportionately affected by federal cuts, in part because they make up only 6.1% of the U.S. population but, because of “veterans preference” in federal hiring, they compose 24% of the 3 million federal workers facing mass layoffs under the Trump administration.

Veterans also depend on comprehensive, free, federally funded health care through

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