As the media furor over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dies down, so, too, does the frequency of DOGE-related reports across the evening news. Nonetheless, those reports are still coming out. The latest such report, via NBC Nightly News, suggests that DOGE will ruin VA care for veterans in Wyoming
Watch as correspondent Stephanie Gosk pitches doom for veterans and their loved ones:
STEPHANIE GOSK: The politics in Wyoming are pretty clear cut: 71% of the Cowboy State voted for Donald Trump, but veterans we’ve been speaking to say they don't want this to be about politics. And with cuts to the VA looming, some of them are feeling a real sense of unease. Last week, two federal judges ruled the firing of probationary federal employees was unlawful, but the VA has set a goal of cutting up to 60,000-80,000 more jobs.
DOUG COLLINS: We’re going to accomplish this without making any cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries.
GOSK: Tripp says he would welcome more efficiency, but he hopes decision makers will visit Wyoming first.
TRIPP: I think getting that personal touch would make a difference.
GOSK: The government, he says, needs to honor its contract with veterans.
This is but the latest in an ongoing series of reports intended to scare viewers into thinking that DOGE will worsen their lives in a myriad of ways. DOGE will alternately, per reports, get you eaten by bears, and ruin your Yosemite vacation (if the bears don’t get to you first). The best comparable of these stories is the one about DOGE causing people in hurricane-affected areas to potentially receive worse care from FEMA.
The VA, like FEMA, has long been derided for the quality of care they provide to their customers. And it is time to be efficient while providing that care.
In the case of the VA, there is no guarantee that preserving existing funding levels would magically provide our brave veterans with the care they need and deserve. Certainly, the agency is not a sympathetic victim of DOGE cuts.
Perhaps the agency can improve after cuts are made, but there is no guarantee. The VA has a long history of mishaps that have harmed and, on occasion, resulted in the death of our Veterans.
Beyond doomcasting off of care for veterans, the report served absolutely no purpose.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, March 19th, 2025:
LESTER HOLT: As part of its cuts to the federal government, the Trump administration plans to slash up to 80,000 jobs at the VA. Stephanie Gosk reports from Wyoming about the potential impact on the 9 million veterans who rely on the agency for critical care.
STEPHANIE GOSK: In a windswept field just outside Cheyenne, Wyoming, there's a small national cemetery, part of the VA's outreach to rural communities.
How would you characterize the need here in Cheyenne, and Wyoming?
JUSTIN TRIPP: I think we have a lot of needs. Suicide is an issue, especially in Wyoming. I recently lost a friend to suicide.
GOSK: A friend that Justin Tripp served withduring his 13 years in the U.S. Navy. Now Tripp is the state commander for the VFW.
TRIPP: That transition into civilian life, that's where we lose a lot of people to suicide.
GOSK: The veteran suicide rate in Wyoming is 50% higher than the rest of the country. In Cheyenne, there's a small VA center dedicated just to mental health. On February 24th, the office manager was fired. A Marine veteran, she was one of the thousands of probationary federal employees fired by email for their performance. But a recent review obtained by NBC News was glowing. Her manager writing: “as a veteran herself, she listens with empathy, she is the first person our clients come into contact with.”
TRIPP: I would be concerned with positions that are frontline positions that touch veterans every day.
GOSK: She was at the front door.
TRIPP: Exactly. And that's where I have concern.
GOSK: The politics in Wyoming are pretty clear cut: 71% of the Cowboy State voted for Donald Trump, but veterans we’ve been speaking to say they don't want this to be about politics. And with cuts to the VA looming, some of them are feeling a real sense of unease. Last week, two federal judges ruled the firing of probationary federal employees was unlawful, but the VA has set a goal of cutting up to 60,000-80,000 more jobs.
DOUG COLLINS: We’re going to accomplish this without making any cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries.
GOSK: Tripp says he would welcome more efficiency, but he hopes decision makers will visit Wyoming first.
TRIPP: I think getting that personal touch would make a difference.
GOSK: The government, he says, needs to honor its contract with veterans.
Why is it this country’s responsibility to take care of those veterans?
TRIPP: Because we served when called. We raised our hand when other people wouldn’t.
GOSK: Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Cheyenne, Wyoming.
