Veterans and military families across the nation will be staging a protest on June 6 as a way to fight for stronger benefits and push back against federal Veterans Affairs job cuts enacted by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The protests at the National Mall in Washington and many other cities are part of 50501 Veterans, a nonviolent group that works to advance veteran and military member causes.
“America made a promise to its veterans. It’s a promise we intend to keep,” the movement 50501 Veterans said on unite4veterans.org. “Veteran jobs, healthcare, and essential VA services are under attack. We will not stand by.”
Why It Matters
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) let go of more than 1,000 staff members in February as part of Trump‘s government efficiency cuts.
The VA said the dismissals “are part of a government-wide Trump Administration effort to make agencies more efficient, effective and responsive.” This will allow the VA to focus “on its core mission: providing the best possible care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.”
Since then, the department has sought to cut its workforce by 17 percent, which would mean eliminating about 82,000 staff members.
What To Know
The national June 6 protest is taking place at 2 p.m. ET at the National Mall, just north of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where 6th Street crosses the Mall.
Protest organizers hope the event can be a way to push back against the thousands of veterans who have been fired from federal jobs and the state of veteran health care, protect veteran and military family member employment in the federal workforce and stop the privatizing of the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Trump administration.
The list of protests happening across the country on June 6 includes cities like Austin, Houston, New Orleans, New York and Seattle, as well as smaller communities in various states. The full list of the locations holding a protest on June 6 is posted here.
Newsweek reached out to 50501 and the Department of Veterans Affairs for comment via email.
The group 50501 Veterans is a non-partisan coalition of veterans committed to strategizing, mobilizing and taking action on critical issues affecting our community and beyond, according to 50501vets.com. The website says the group is united by its shared oath to the Constitution and harnesses its skills and leadership experience to drive meaningful change.
“As supporters of the 50501 Movement, we stand firmly for nonviolence and for fostering thoughtful discussion, action-oriented planning, and collaboration on initiatives that uplift veterans, advocate for key causes, and shape policy,” the website says. “Whether organizing events, supporting advocacy efforts, or building a strong network, we empower veterans to continue serving in a new and impactful way.”
The 50501 movement stresses that it is peaceful and “violence of any kind will not be tolerated.” The movement’s first “protests were a decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies. The idea—50 protests in 50 states on 1 day—spread rapidly on social media.
In just days earlier this year, grassroots organizers pulled off more than 80 peaceful protests in all 50 states. Since then, the protests have grown over successive days of action: February 17, March 4, April 5 and 19, and May 1.
What People Are Saying
Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, the founder of American Opposition, which is working alongside 50501 Veterans, told Newsweek: “We organized this action to stand up for our veterans. We believe that a nation that neglects its veterans is a nation that has lost its moral compass. That a government that breaks its promises to those who served cannot be trusted to keep promises to anyone else.”
Unite for Veterans, on its website: “Veterans and military family members are being fired by the thousands from federal jobs. Our healthcare is being gutted. Our benefits are under siege. This isn’t the first time veterans have had to fight for what was promised. From the Bonus Army of 1932 to the battles for the GI Bill and Agent Orange care, veterans have always led the charge for justice.”
What Happens Next
Veterans, family members and their supporters will hold the event on June 6 at 2 p.m. ET.
While the main protest is happening in Washington, organizers have planned local demonstrations around the country. It is unclear whether the protests will trigger any significant change at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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