America’s democracy is built on strong institutions, including an apolitical military and an independent civil service that are supposed to serve the people, not the interests of a single leader. These institutions aren’t just symbols of democracy; they are its foundation. Right now, President Donald Trump’s administration is deliberately dismantling that foundation.
Veterans know how to act in trying times. We have long been among the most trusted voices in American society—not just because of our service, but because we’ve shown time and again that we put country before politics. After the Civil War, veterans helped stitch a broken nation back together. After World War II, veterans led the fight for civil rights. After Vietnam, veterans forced America to confront its failures. And today, we face another test: whether our military and government will serve everyone equally under the rule of law.
Recent events should be a wake-up call for anyone who cares about the future of democracy. Last month, General C.Q. Brown Jr., the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired, along with other senior military leaders. These were not routine changes but instead political purges, designed to install loyalists in positions that should remain nonpartisan.
The same pattern is playing out across the U.S. government. More than 1,000 employees at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) were fired last month. And the VA has announced plans to cut more than 80,000 additional positions—gutting the very infrastructure veterans rely on for care and benefits. Key election security officials have been removed, weakening safeguards for free and fair elections. The military is being deployed to the southwest border for political purposes. The administration has detained civilians with no criminal record at the same military facility in Guantanamo Bay that was used to house enemy combatants during the Global War on Terrorism.
This is not about efficiency or reform. It is about control. And the administration’s attempts to exert control are having an impact on the veteran and military communities.
Veterans should recognize this playbook. We’ve seen it in other countries, where democratic backsliding starts with the erosion of independent institutions, the politicization of the military, and the replacement of independent, experienced leaders with those who will not challenge executive authority. The United States has long prided itself on a professional, apolitical military and a government built on institutional integrity. That foundation is now being deliberately eroded.
This is a moment that demands a response, particularly from the veteran community.
For years, veteran service organizations (VSOs) have led the fight for better healthcare, stronger benefits, and greater protections for veterans. Their advocacy has secured life-saving care, expanded access to education, and ensured veterans are not left behind.
But now, as the very systems that support veterans and safeguard democracy come under attack, their leadership is more critical than ever. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has spoken out, urging the administration and Congress to stop the indiscriminate firing of VA employees, many of whom are veterans themselves. Other VSOs must follow their lead.
This is not a time for caution. VSOs should be leading the charge to defend our constitutional system. They have the platform, credibility, and reach to sound the alarm in ways few others can. They should be calling on Congress to investigate the administration’s firings, pushing back against the politicization of the military, and ensuring that veterans are part of the national conversation about what’s at stake.
VSOs and veterans have an opportunity to act as defenders of the democratic institutions that make their advocacy possible in the first place. While these organizations exist to uphold the interests of veterans, we know veterans are not served by a government that removes oversight, weakens institutions, and strips away checks and balances.
But we can’t wait for VSOs alone to act. Every veteran has a role to play. Congress needs to hear from us directly. Lawmakers are already facing backlash at town halls, where constituents are demanding answers for the administration’s attacks on democratic institutions. Veterans have a unique credibility in these spaces—not just as constituents, but as people who have served and sacrificed for this country. When veterans show up and speak out, we are difficult to ignore. Our voices carry weight, and our presence signals that what’s happening is bigger than politics—it’s about protecting the values we swore an oath to defend.
Veterans should demand that Congress use its authority to hold this administration accountable. Oversight bodies have the power to investigate the ongoing, mass firings, as well as the broader effort to erode institutional independence. The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees must demand answers on why thousands of VA employees, many of them veterans, have been fired. The House Oversight Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee—both of which have broad investigative authority over executive branch actions—must examine the administration’s dismantling of government. And the Senate and House Armed Services Committees need to investigate last month’s political purges of senior officers, including the removal of General C.Q. Brown Jr. and other military officials.
The message must be clear: Our government and our military serve the people, bound by the rule of law and the Constitution. That principle must be defended.
This is not about partisanship. This is about protecting the pillars of our democracy itself.
History has shown us what happens when career civil servants and military leaders are replaced with political loyalists. We know how this ends. Veterans understand what is at stake. The question now is whether the organizations that represent them will rise to meet this moment.
Our country has faced threats before, and veterans have always stepped forward to meet the challenge forward. Now, we must do so once again.