MARYLAND NEWS – Governor Wes Moore says the veteran cuts are an “embarrassment”

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Maryland Governor Wes Moore said that he was “embarrassed” about the way veterans are being treated in this country. Moore said that  veterans are being disrespected by Donald Trump’s new administration, particularly the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has continued to eliminate federal jobs.

An internal memo outlined the plans for a massive overhaul of the Department of Veteran Affairs that planned to eliminate 80,000 jobs. This is part of efforts being made by DOGE to shrink the size of the federal government. Moore, who is an Army veteran, claimed that one in three federal employees is a military veteran and that more than 23,000 federal workers are living in Maryland alone. Governor Moore said, “These are people who served this country proudly,” Moore said. “To see, now, this level of disrespect that is being taken toward our military veterans, towards their service, towards their families, it’s just deeply disheartening and, truthfully, it’s just un-American.” The memo also instructed top-level staff to prepare for the regionalization. The memo also calls for agency officials to work with DOGE and Elon Musk to advance the goals of the Trump administration.