“Trump Administration Shuts Down VA Unit Addressing Racial Disparities: What You Need to Know”
The Trump administration has recently shut down the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Office of Equity Assurance, a unit of the Department of Veterans Affairs that was created under President Joe Biden to address disparities in how disability compensation is provided to military service members. This closure effectively hampers internal efforts at the VA to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department has acknowledged.
According to emails obtained by ProPublica, the closure of the Office of Equity Assurance was part of the Trump administration’s broader purge of programs aimed at addressing diversity, equity, or inclusion. However, sources within the VA stated that the office was not solely focused on race but also took on cases for a range of veterans to ensure proper benefits were not denied based on factors such as age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and geographic location.
Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat and former chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, criticized the closure of the office as “excessive” and “reckless.” He expressed concerns that the closure would have disastrous effects on the care and benefits received by minority veterans, as the office was instrumental in making it easier for them to access care and benefits.
Richard Brookshire, co-founder of the Black Veterans Project, a nonprofit focused on rectifying discrimination faced by Black veterans, echoed Takano’s concerns, stating that the closure of the office was a first step toward gutting the VA and would have dire consequences.
VA spokesperson Peter Kasperowicz declined to confirm whether the agency would continue to study racial disparities but emphasized that newly installed VA Secretary Douglas Collins treats all veterans and beneficiaries fairly and equally. Kasperowicz stated that the closure of the Office of Equity Assurance was necessary as the agency would redirect the saved funds to improve health care, benefits, and services for all veterans.
The closure of the Office of Equity Assurance is part of several disruptive staff cuts at the VA in recent weeks, with around 2,400 employees losing their positions since the Trump administration began slashing the federal workforce. The department plans to shed nearly 15% of its workforce, reducing the total number of employees to approximately 398,000.
Workers assigned to the Office of Equity Assurance were informed of their immediate termination in February, with the office being liquidated. Some of the terminations were later reversed, and the affected employees were placed on administrative leave pending possible reassignment within the VA or another federal department.
Black veterans and their advocates have long complained about disparities in how claims are handled, with ongoing lawsuits and reports highlighting the issue. A 2023 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that the VA approved compensation applications for service-related disabilities at lower rates for Black veterans compared to veterans of other races.
Since Trump took office, the VA’s webpage detailing its work on equity and diversity appears to have been removed, and the heads of internal advisory groups addressing minority and female veterans’ needs were fired. The closure of the Office of Equity Assurance is seen as part of an ongoing rollback of racial equity programs deemed “radical and wasteful” by the Trump administration.
The Center for Minority Veterans, an advisory group that worked with the Office of Equity Assurance to address racial disparities, raised concerns over Black veterans’ lower rate of claims approval multiple times to VA leadership. The group’s new director, Mariela Roca, a former Republican congressional hopeful, has recently taken over, but it remains unclear what strategies the group will pursue under new leadership.