| March 24, 2025 08:31:20 AM |
|
|
| March 24, 2025 08:31:20 AM |
|
|
As congressional lawmakers scramble to respond to President Donald Trump's reduction of the federal government, one group is already taking a front and center role: military veterans. We take a look at the ways in which veterans have been affected.
Welcome to this week’s edition of AP Ground Game. |
Policy changes, but facts endure. AP delivers accurate, fact-based journalism to keep the world informed in every administration. Support independent reporting today. Donate. |
Elon Musk, left, shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) |
Military veterans are becoming the face of Trump's government cuts |
From layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs to a Pentagon purge of archives that documented diversity in the military, veterans have been acutely affected by the Republican president's actions.
Veterans make up about 30% of the federal workforce, often tapping government benefits they earned with their military service. And most veterans voted for Trump last year – nearly 6 in 10, according to AP VoteCast.
At a series of recent town halls, veterans angrily confronted Republican members as they defended the cuts made under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson advised his members to skip the town halls and claimed that they were being filled with paid protesters, but some Republicans have been holding them and trying to respond to the criticism.
Still, some elected Republicans have expressed unease with the seemingly indiscriminate firing of veterans, especially when they have not been looped in on the administration's plans. At a town hall on Friday, Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw — a veteran himself — told the audience, “We’re learning about this stuff at the speed of light, the way you are. I think there’s been some babies thrown out with the bathwater here, but we’re still gathering information on it.” Read more.
|
|
|
Of note:
In negotiations to allow passage of a Republican-backed government funding bill this month, Democrats secured a vote to amend the package to include language that would protect veterans from the federal layoffs. But it failed on party lines in part because the last-minute change would have ensured that Congress missed the deadline to avert a shutdown. |
|
|
America's European allies try to pry their unspent money back from USAID |
Three European allies provided millions of dollars that the United States was supposed to spend for low-income countries. Then the Trump administration and Musk’s government-cutters arrived.
Government officials from Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands told The Associated Press that a combined $15 million they contributed for joint development work overseas has been parked at the U.S. Agency for International Development for months.
After the Republican administration and DOGE cut USAID’s funding and the bulk of its programs, the Europeans asked whether their money would be funneled to projects as expected or refunded. They have gotten no response.
Other foreign governments also had money entrusted with USAID for distribution in a range of joint development projects at the time Trump ordered the funding freeze on Jan. 20, according to an official directly familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The worries point to the extent to which the new administration's abrupt cutoff of foreign assistance and canceling of contracts for humanitarian and development work are raising questions about Washington's financial reliability. They also show further strain between allies as Trump revamps American foreign policy. Read more.
|
|
|
Of note: The State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to questions. |
|
|
AOC tries to broaden her appeal within a Democratic base spoiling for a fight |
In a leaderless Democratic Party out of power in Washington, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a message and a connection with a segment of liberals feeling disenchanted with both parties. Now, in her fourth term, the 35-year-old congresswoman is working to broaden her appeal beyond her progressive, anti-establishment roots. Hitting the road last week with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for his “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies, she is addressing people who disagree with her and reframing the divide in the Democratic Party not as progressive versus moderate, but as those going after Donald Trump and those being more cautious.
Her instinct to brawl is well-matched to the restlessness of the Democratic base, much of which sees top party officials like New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as not confrontational enough.
Ocasio-Cortez did not walk away from her progressive views but signaled openness to disagreement, saying her movement “is not about partisan labels or purity tests,” but rather solidarity with the working class.
“We need more people like them with the courage to brawl for the working class,” she said in Arizona, praising colleagues who voted against a Republican spending bill. Read more. |
|
|
Of note:
About two-thirds of Democrats have a favorable opinion of Ocasio-Cortez and just 5% view her unfavorably, according to Gallup polling rom January. But the broader public is more divided. Among all adults, about 4 in 10 had a negative view of Ocasio-Cortez while about 3 in 10 had a positive view.
In her home state, about 4 in 10 New York voters in the November election viewed her favorably while about the same share had an unfavorable opinion, according to AP VoteCast. |
|
|
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speak outside of Arizona State University to the overflow crowd that did not get inside the arena, during a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour event Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) |
- Both the House and Senate are in session this week.
|
|
|
|
