Over the past four decades, Samuel Baker has undergone dozens of physicals and exams, plus a handful of surgeries due to a botched landing as a U.S. Army paratrooper.
Baker, who receives care at the Dallas VA Medical Center, is among the millions of veterans who say they are facing a terrifying possibility: Will cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs dramatically slash health care? On Friday, the 71-year-old Cedar Hill man joined more than 200 veterans and supporters in Dallas to protest the firings and urge lawmakers to fight cuts.
“It’s heart-wrenching. It tears us up,” said Baker, standing across from the hospital where he receives care. “You serve your country the best you can. Now it’s our own government causing hurt, pain and frustration.”
Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.
The Dallas protest was one of several across the country. In recent weeks, about 2,400 Veterans Affairs employees have been dismissed, including 16 in North Texas. A spokesperson for the VA North Texas Health Care System said this week that the office has contested the local cases and is working to rehire the employees.
Karen Branch of Fort Worth holds an upside down U.S. flag, a sign of distress, during a rally to protest job and spending cuts at Veterans Affairs, on Friday, March 14, 2025, outside of Dallas VA Medical Center. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)
The firings are part of efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency — an entity created by President Donald Trump and spearheaded by businessman Elon Musk — to dramatically cut the federal workforce.
Firings have largely targeted the roughly 200,000 federal employees who are on probationary status, often because they started their positions within the past year. Two federal judges have since ordered Trump to rehire the employees. He has already appealed the first decision.
“Things need to change,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a video posted on social media, adding that the layoffs would not mean cuts to veterans’ health care or benefits. “This administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want. President Trump has a mandate for generational change in Washington and that’s exactly what we’re going to deliver at the VA.”
Related:Long lines and overflowing trash: Texas national parks brace for chaos following job cuts
Veterans said their health care should be a bipartisan issue and not subject to sweeping federal cuts. As they chanted “Protect our veterans,” some hoisted signs that read “Veterans against Musk” and “Trump betrayed vets.”
Many said they were anxious about their care in coming months, as Veterans Affairs is reportedly planning a reorganization that includes cutting more than 80,000 jobs. The agency now has about 482,000 employees, about a quarter of whom are veterans themselves.
Amber Smith, who served in the Air Force for a decade, said she has sought support for both her physical and mental health from the VA. Smith said her father, a Vietnam veteran, died in 2010 from cancer associated with Agent Orange. Firing employees would shrink health care and make it harder for veterans to find care, she said.
“We were promised we would be taken care of,” said Smith, 36, of Fort Worth. “What’s happening now is incredibly insulting.”
In 2024, the VA experienced its busiest-ever year, reaching more than 9 million enrollees and delivering more than 127.5 million health care appointments. In April of last year, the agency said it had cut wait times by 11% for primary care and 7% for mental health care, compared with the same times the previous year.
Donna Wurster, who lives in Murphy, receives treatment at the VA in Dallas for extensive nerve damage in both legs, arthritis and a long list of other physical ailments due to her 20 years in the Army and Army Reserves. Wurster said she is nervous that wait times will increase and veterans will be without health care they desperately need.
If Trump wanted to cut the budget, she said, he should have taken his proposal to Congress, not enacted it without any oversight.
“The fact that these two men who have never served in the military think they understand our health care is horrifying,” Wurster, 65, said. “It’s wrong.”
Baker, the Cedar Hill veteran, said he is worried about health care for veterans, but also the effects of the firings on the community.
“That’s not just a job,” he said. “A person has that job. And they have children, a spouse, people who rely on them. This is about more than jobs.”
Veterans, family members and military supporters rally to protest job and spending cuts at Veterans Affairs, on Friday, March 14, 2025, outside of Dallas VA Medical Center.(Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)
