CEDAR RAPIDS — Pete Buttigieg criticized President Donald Trump’s impact on veterans at a town hall in Cedar Rapids Tuesday. The former Navy Reserves intelligence officer condemned Trump’s efforts to restructure veteran resources. 

The Trump administration plans to cut over 80,000 employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs in August, according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press. 

Six employees were fired from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City in February, and staff expressed concern of the impact of strained resources. 

Buttigieg, who served in Afghanistan, warned Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to cut programs for veterans will only negatively impact the U.S. 

He urged the crowd of over 1,800 people to place pressure on elected officials, and said opposition to “abuse coming out of Washington has never mattered more.” 

Buttigieg said he thinks many of the members of Congress who support Trump’s cuts to the federal government — especially cuts to veteran services — are aware that the cuts are damaging and unpopular, and Tuesday’s event was a chance to get their attention.

“At the end of the day, the vast majority of people in this country understand that what makes America, America is that the American people bow to no king,” Buttigieg said to applause from the crowd. 

The event, sponsored by the Democratic political organization VoteVets Action Fund, follows an Iowa City visit from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont in February. Buttigieg’s appearance in Cedar Falls is his first public in-person event since Trump’s return to the White House. 

Ben Davis, a Cedar Rapids business owner and a disabled veteran, said he received all of his recovery care through the VA system.

Davis said Trump’s cuts to the VA system and services will worsen veterans’ ability to access the care they need.  

Diagnosed with damaged lungs from his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Davis said it took nine months for a doctor to tell him why he was coughing constantly and had depleted energy. 

“It’s just going to be longer and longer as we suffer from what we’ve done for our country,” Davis said. 

“Our current administration is not showing us the appreciation that we fought for,” Davis said. “As a veteran who’s trying to live our best American dream, we’re having a really hard time doing that.”

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs is conducting a review of all agencies to address any issues and increase efficiency without making cuts to health care or benefits for veterans, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in an email to The Daily Iowan. 

Kasperowicz said the department’s goals is to reduce the number of fulle-time positions to 2019 levels, which is roughly 398,000 employees. Currently, the department has roughly 482,000 staff — and 459,000 full-time workers

The Biden administration increased the number of VA employees to address increased demand, including a record-setting expansion in 2023 when the Veterans Health Administration hired 61,000 new employees.

“As we reform VA, we are guided by the fact that even though the Biden Administration astronomically grew the department’s budget and number of employees, VA wait times and backlogs increase,” Kasperowicz said in the email.

Kasperowicz said the department will maintain the VA’s essential jobs, such as doctors and nurses, while phasing out “non-mission essential roles like DEI officers.” Savings will be redirected to veteran health care and benefits, he said.

The former Transportation Secretary, who passed on a run for a U.S. Senate seat representing Michigan in March, is considered to be a potential Democratic candidate for the 2028 presidential election. 

Buttigieg narrowly won the Iowa caucuses in 2020, atop the Iowa Democratic Party alongside Sanders. Clouded by technical glitches, the race was not called by the Associated Press, as the margin was 0.04 percent and the AP had concerns about whether the results reported were fully accurate. 

Despite jabs from the crowd, Buttigieg did not confirm a bid for the Oval Office and criticized Republicans for their lack of public events.  

“This is an opportunity to get their attention,” Buttigieg said, referring to Iowa’s politician. “We’re all here for this town hall. I can’t help but notice that I’m not an elected official or running for anything, and I’m here.” 

Iowans and Iowa politicians react to Buttigieg

The Republican Party of Iowa claimed Buttigieg and Democrats are playing politics with veterans’ care in a Tuesday news release. 

Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa Jeff Kaufmann said in the release that Trump has focused on honoring veterans through initiatives to improve health care access, cut waste, and “DEI nonsense” in Veterans Affairs.

“President Trump made veterans a top priority, delivering real results — not empty rhetoric,” Kaufmann said in the news release. 

U.S. Air Force and Gulf War veteran Ron Slagle of Linn County said in the party’s news release that he is proud of the work the Trump administration is doing. 

“President Trump didn’t just talk about making things better for veterans — he delivered,” Slagle said in Tuesday’s news release. “The VA improved under his leadership and more money is going directly to services.” 

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart attended Buttigieg’s town hall Tuesday. 

The large turnout is a testament that Iowans are looking for change, Hart said in an interview with the DI. 

“Iowans are not so political as we think they are,” Hart said. “They want to see somebody who really cares about the issues that matter to them.”

Mother and daughter pair Crystal and Ashlyn Hall of Victor, Iowa, also attended Buttigieg’s packed town hall on Tuesday. 

Crystal, 48, has long been a supporter of Buttigieg, caucusing for the Democrat in his 2020 bid for the presidency. She said his ability to stick to his values and level-headedness boost her support of him. 

Crystal said veteran life is a large part of her small community, and Buttigieg is a strong example of a politician who supports troops and provides a unique perspective as a veteran himself. 

“At the end of the day, we need people like him to fight for people like us,” Crystal said. “We really need to support our troops, and I think that Mr. Buttigieg is a really good example of this. Being former military himself, he has that unique perspective that not all politicians have. 

Ashlyn, 20, a student at Mount Mercy University, said the chance to see Buttigieg in person was exciting, and she thinks it is important for young people to be informed about politics and attend political events, whether they agree with them or not. 

Ashley said it is important to have events such as Buttigieg’s town hall and have conversations about politics to become as informed as possible. 

The pair both said they would undoubtedly vote for Buttigieg if he ran for president. 

“I’m not running for anything,” Buttigieg said to reporters at the event. “And part of what’s exciting about an opportunity like this is to be campaigning for values and for ideas rather than a specific electoral campaign.”