Our Nation’s Heroes Deserve Honor and Respect Arrow

On this Veteran's Day, Democrats honor the sacrifice and courage of those who have served to protect our nation. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to stand with America's veterans, servicemembers, and their families - ensuring they receive the benefits and support they deserve. With deep gratitude, Democrats will always stand shoulder to shoulder with our men and women in uniform and fight for our heroes who've fought for us.

In his second term as president, Donald Trump has once again made it clear that he doesn't care about America's veterans. Time and again, Trump has sold out the American people to line the pockets of his billionaire buddies - and our country's brave men and women in uniform are no exception.

In honor of Veterans Day, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:

"We give our deepest thanks and gratitude to the millions of veterans around the country who answered the call of duty to protect our American freedoms. Democrats will always champion all who served, as well as the brave active-duty men and women still serving, and we will work tirelessly to make sure our veterans have health care, housing, and good jobs. We remain steadfast in standing up to Donald Trump and the Republicans every time they make life harder and more expensive for veterans and their families, threaten their care and benefits, or treat our military like a political prop."

Trump's ruthless cuts to the federal government laid off 83,000 essential Veterans Affairs (VA) employees, including nurses and doctors - many of whom are veterans themselves. 6,000 more veterans across the federal government were also fired because of Trump's cruel cuts. As a result, services that veterans rely on, including health care, housing, and education are being gutted and the VA crisis line that supports suicide prevention is being undermined as operators are left overwhelmed and under-resourced. The VA's lifesaving services were already strained because of severe staffing shortages and now Trump's cuts are adding insult to injury - all because the Trump administration decided that handing out massive tax cuts to billionaires is more important than supporting our nation's heroes.

Trump's disregard for the men and women who serve in uniform should come as no surprise. Who could forget when Trump called fallen soldiers "losers" and "suckers," and asked for wounded veterans to be excluded from military parades. Trump - a known draft dodger - knows nothing about sacrifice and bravery.

Meanwhile, Democrats have been fighting to protect veterans by demanding that fired veterans and VA employees be reinstated and shielding PACT Act benefits Democrats delivered from Trump's reckless funding cuts. Let's be clear: Democrats honor the sacrifices of our service members and veterans and their families while Trump spits on their service and guts the programs they rely on when they return home.