In addition to the top post at VA, Wilkie also served as the Pentagon’s top personnel official during the first Trump administration.

In a statement released Wednesday, Trump transition team co-chairs Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick said the focus of the various handover efforts will be “selecting personnel to serve our nation under [Trump’s] leadership and to enact policies that make the life of Americans affordable, safe, and secure.”

Wilkie’s role was first reported by Politico.

Wilkie served from July 2018 to January 2021 as the most senior official at VA, replacing Trump’s first secretary for the department, Dr. David Shulkin. He also served as acting secretary for two months prior to his Senate confirmation.

As secretary, he oversaw the initial stages of the department’s electronic health records overhaul and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic within the VA health care system.

Wilkie courted controversy late in his term after a VA inspector general report criticized his mishandling of a sexual assault allegation against a veteran visiting the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center.

The report detailed how Wilkie directed an investigation into the victim, a Democratic congressional aide, and worked behind the scenes to discredit her. The inspector general labeled his actions “unprofessional” but did not find any criminal wrongdoing.

Still, more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress and 20 veterans groups — including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion — publicly called for Wilkie’s resignation or firing. Neither happened, and he left office after Trump’s term expired.

Since then, Wilkie has worked as a military and veterans expert at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank launched by former Trump appointees in 2021.

As head of the defense transition efforts, Wilkie will lead Trump’s search for a new defense secretary, as well as other senior civilian leadership posts within the military.

Republicans are expected to hold a majority in the Senate next year, easing the path to confirmation for those picks.

Rajesh Motibhai Patel, 69, had been charged with assaulting four patients but was convicted by a federal jury in only one of the cases. In a statement, VA Inspector General Michael Missal, whose office helped investigate the allegations, called the verdict an important step towards restoring patient trust in the health care system.

“VA employees are entrusted with keeping our nation’s veterans safe while receiving care. Acts of violence against veterans in VA facilities are reprehensible and shatters that trust,” he said. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold anyone who would commit these crimes accountable.”

Patel was removed from his post at the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center in spring 2023 after department officials were informed of the sexual assault allegations. He had previously worked as a primary care physician there.

Justice Department officials said that Patel improperly groped female patients’ breasts and vaginal areas during multiple routine exams between 2019 and 2020. A federal jury acquitted him of charges related to three victims but found him guilty of assault in the fourth case.

“Veterans who consulted him for treatment, like the victim in this case, trusted Dr. Patel, and he violated that trust,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. “His conviction hopefully provides a measure of healing for those impacted by his crimes.”

Patel is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.

“COVID-19 continues to be the most significant viral respiratory infection in our community,” said Dr. Gio Baracco, senior advisor for the Veterans Health Administration’s National Infectious Diseases Service. “It’s still causing a significant number of illnesses, even hospitalizations and some deaths, although clearly not as many as we had at the beginning of the pandemic.”

More than 1,700 days have passed since VA officials announced their first diagnosed case of the virus on March 4, 2020. At least 26,670 individuals linked to VA health care have died from COVID-related conditions over the last four years, an average of about 16 a day.

VA urging veterans, staff to get latest COVID-19 vaccine booster

But the majority of those cases came in the first two years of the pandemic, which was declared over by federal health experts in May 2023.

Since the start of 2024, VA has recorded only about 67,000 new cases (about 7% of the total diagnosed by the department) and 1,100 COVID-related deaths (about 4% of the department’s total).

Baracco credited those improvements to advances in vaccines and treatments in recent years.

“We’re not addressing COVID-19 in crisis mode anymore,” he said. “Because of the tools and the focus on prevention that we have at this time, we have been able to mitigate the severity and the impact in most people.

“But not in all people.”

Patients in the VA health care system remain vulnerable to more serious complications from COVID-19 because of their age — most tend to be older than the average American — and other existing medical issues — most tend to have other service-connected conditions — Baracco said.

That’s the main reason VA continues to track active cases at hundreds of department sites daily, even after most federal monitoring of COVID cases was shut down at the formal end of the national pandemic.

“COVID-19 has not yet established itself as a seasonal disease like the flu has, so it’s not as predictable,” Baracco said. “Something is really considered endemic when it becomes predictable. Right now, with COVID, we are seeing at least two waves each year, sometimes three per year.”

He foresees VA continuing to track virus cases for at least several more years, providing a guidepost for the department — and the public — to see when cases are spiking or diminishing.

As of Tuesday, the number of active cases spread out across the VA medical system was 1,538, down about half over the last month and far below the 2024 peak of 9,688 cases set on Jan. 9.

But even that number is a small fraction of VA’s one-day record for COVID-19 diagnoses: nearly 78,000 cases in January 2022.

The department still recommends patients and their families get vaccinated when updated versions are made available, wear masks in public areas during times of higher infection and avoid crowds if they believe they may be infected.

“The approach moving forward is not so much about treating disease, which we still continue to do, but also to prevent getting ill in the first place and prevent infecting others,” he said.

The Associated Press called the race in favor of Sheehy early Wednesday morning, with the Republican leading by nearly 8% in the vote.

Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who also graduated from Army Ranger School as part of a special operations exchange program between the services. He courted controversy during his campaign for claiming to have been shot while serving in Afghanistan, despite no military records backing up the claim.

His victory will add another veteran to the list of prominent Republicans with military service in the Senate, including Arkansas’ Tom Cotton and Florida’s Rick Scott.

How veterans are faring in the 2024 election

Tester’s defeat represents a significant political setback for the Democratic Party, not just because of the loss of control of the Senate but also because of Tester’s leadership on a host of national security and veterans issues.

He has served in the Senate since 2007 and been chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee since 2017. Tester was a leading voice on the PACT Act — legislation which provided disability benefits and expanded health care to millions of veterans with military toxic exposure injuries — ahead of its passage in 2022.

Tester has served as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel for the last three years, helping guide annual funding decisions for the Department of Defense.

The simple copper and cardboard urns gathering dust on shelves only had the name of each of the 28 soldiers — but nothing linking them to the Civil War. Still, that was enough for an organization dedicated to locating, identifying and interring the remains of unclaimed veterans to conclude over several years that they were all Union soldiers deserving of a burial service with military honors.

“It's amazing that they were still there and we found them,” said Tom Keating, the Washington state coordinator for the Missing In America Project, which turned to a team of volunteers to confirm their war service through genealogical research. “It's something long overdue. These people have been waiting a long time for a burial.”

Civil War soldiers awarded Medal of Honor for Confederate train raid

Most of the veterans were buried in August at Washington’s Tahoma National Cemetery.

In a traditional service offered to Civil War veterans, the historical 4th U.S. Infantry Regiment dressed in Union uniforms fired musket volleys and the crowd sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Names were called out for each veteran and their unit before their remains were brought forward and stories were shared about their exploits. Then, they were buried.

Among them was a veteran held at a Confederate prison known as Andersonville. Several were wounded in combat and others fought in critical battles including Gettysburg, Stones River and the Atlanta campaign. One man survived being shot thanks to his pocket watch — which he kept until his death — and another deserted the Confederate Army and joined the Union forces.

“It was something, just the finality of it all,” Keating said, adding they were unable to find any living descendants of the veterans.

While some remains are hidden away in funeral homes, others were found where they fell in battle or by Civil War reenactors combing old graveyards.

Communities often turn reburials into major events, allowing residents to celebrate veterans and remember a long-forgotten war. In 2016, a volunteer motorcycle group escorted the remains of one veteran cross country from Oregon to the final resting place in Maine. In South Carolina, the remains of 21 Confederate soldiers recovered from forgotten graves beneath the stands of a military college’s football stadium were reburied in 2005.

Sometimes reburials spark controversy. The discovery of the remains of two soldiers from the Manassas National Battlefield in Virginia prompted an unsuccessful attempt in 2018 by several families to have DNA tests done on them. The Army rejected that request and reburied them as unknown soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Along with those buried at Tahoma, Keating said, several others will be buried at Washington State Veterans Cemetery and a Navy veteran will be buried at sea. The remains of several more Civil War veterans were sent to Maine, Rhode Island and other places where family connections were found.

Among them was Byron Johnson. Born in Pawtucket in 1844, he enlisted at 18 and served as a hospital steward with the Union Army. He moved out West after the war and died in Seattle in 1913. After his remains were delivered to Pawtucket City Hall, he was buried with military honors at his family's plot in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien said Johnson's burial service was the right thing to do.

“When you have somebody who served in a war but especially this war, we want to honor them,” he said. “It became more intriguing when you think this individual was left out there and not buried in his own community.”

Grebien said the burials recall important lessons about the 1861-1865 war to preserve the Union, fought between the North's Union Army and the Confederate States of America at a cost of hundreds of thousands of lives.

“It was important to remind people not only in Pawtucket but the state of Rhode Island and nationwide that we have people who sacrificed their lives for us and for a lot of the freedoms we have,” he said.

Bruce Frail and his son Ben — both long active in the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War — were on hand for service. Ben Frail was also a reenactor at Johnson’s service, portraying a Union Army captain.

“It's the best thing we can do for a veteran,” said Bruce Frail, a former commander-in-chief with the Sons of Union Veterans and state coordinator for Missing In America Project.

“The feeling that you get when you honor somebody in that way, it’s indescribable,” he said.

The task of piecing together Johnson’s life story was left to Amelia Boivin, the constituent liaison in the Pawtucket mayor’s office. A history buff, she recalled getting the call requesting the city take possession of his remains and bury them with his family. She got to work and Johnson’s story became the talk of City Hall.

She determined Johnson grew up in Pawtucket, had two sisters and a brother and worked as a druggist after the war. He left to make his fortune out West, first in San Francisco and eventually in Seattle, where he worked nearly up until his death. It doesn't appear Johnson ever married or had children, and no living relatives were found.

“I felt like it was resolution of sorts,” Boivin said. “It felt like we were doing right for someone who otherwise would have been lost to history.”

However, the results may not be known for several days or weeks.

That’s because each state has different rules regarding absentee voting, counting of mail-in ballots and verification of vote totals. In 2020, the presidential election could not be called until a week after the final votes were cast because of those complications. Some congressional races took even longer to decide.

Election officials have asked the public for patience while official tallying of the votes takes place. Military Times will be tracking all of the congressional races involving veterans here on election night and the coming weeks. For the latest results, refresh this page.

“You’ve got transitioning vets and spouses that are in Stuttgart, Germany, or Okinawa, Japan, or any other place where the government puts them for their military time, and they’ll transition from overseas and come back home to what?” said Tom Downs, director of diversity talent acquisition and talent pipeline programs at Booz Allen Hamilton.

“So, post pandemic, we still have a robust virtual program, so we can talk to every veteran, every spouse across the U.S. or the globe for that matter. … We can’t hire every one of them, but we can make sure to at least have a conversation with them.”

Best For Vets 2024 Employers

That focus on attracting military talent is no small matter for the technology firm: About one-third of its annual hires are veterans, reservists or military dependents. Downs said the company has five recruiters dedicated solely to military recruitment, a reflection of the importance the population carries for the company.

The aggressive hiring strategy — and a host of other military-centric employee programs — earned Booz Allen Hamilton the top spot on the 2024 Military Times Best for Vets Employers rankings.

The company has been a regular among the top names in the annual Best for Vets list in past years, in large part because of its commitment to including veterans as core workers.

The survey weighs how organizations recruit, mentor and retain veterans and their family members. Hilary Niles, survey coordinator for the Best for Vets list, said the rankings don’t just echo companies’ raw staffing numbers, but also include factors such as “support programs, accommodations for military connected employees with disabilities, and opportunities for spouses and caregivers.”

This year’s list includes 238 employers spread across 44 states, with 62 firms making their debut in the rankings.

It includes 33 defense contracting firms — traditionally seen as military-friendly and military-heavy companies — but also companies in fields less associated with hiring veterans, like health care, hospitality, energy and banking.

The top 10 includes representatives from nine different industries, with only pharmaceutical employers appearing twice (Johnson & Johnson at #2, and Bristol Myers Squibb at #6).

Employee feedback

Comcast NBCUniversal, the #3 company on the Best For Vets list, earned its spot not just because of its veterans hiring patterns but also because of consistent communication with those employees throughout their careers.

Several years ago, when veterans working there pitched the idea of a discount for military families on their cable services, officials at the company fast-tracked the proposal and sent notices to military bases.

When another veteran at the media firm replaced a tattered American flag visible in his neighborhood with his own money, officials set aside thousands more to replace any aging flags that employees see in the community.

“We want to serve military customers, but we can’t do that authentically if we don’t have military-connected employees in our own workforce who can advise and guide us,” said Mona Dexter, vice president of military and veteran affairs at the company. “And seeing that response encourages our employees.”

The flag program — dubbed Operation Old Glory — is less about directly helping veterans at the company and more about finding ways to link their patriotism and service to their post-military lives.

“It’s that continued sense of service and connection to the symbol that represents the country,” she said. “And it’s a bit of education — not just for our employees, but for community members, too.”

Most companies near the top of the rankings boast relationships with local veterans groups and military advocacy organizations to emphasize that community connection.

One of Booz Allen Hamilton’s most successful partnerships is with the Defense Department, through their Skillbridge Program for transitioning troops.

The initiative allows service members — and now, some military spouses — an opportunity for professional internships and apprenticeships at private-sector firms during their final six months in service. The goal is to give transitioning service members a chance to better understand the private sector and showcase their skills, with an eye towards a post-military career.

Downs said Booz Allen Hamilton’s involvement in the program has grown from around 20 participants five years ago to more than 150 this year. More than 90% of individuals enrolled in Skillbridge partnerships have gone on to land jobs at the company after completion.

“That’s really the crown jewel right now,” he said. “If other companies aren’t engaging with that, I don’t know why not.”

Community connections

Downs noted that veterans also contribute to the overall diversity of Booz Allen Hamilton’s workforce by bringing their own unique experiences to the company. The firm boasts 11 different “employee communities” to highlight the backgrounds of various groups, including one for military-connected individuals.

“They each have their own networking events, their own development programs,” he said. “And you can be a member in as many of the groups as you want. They do happy hours, they do fun runs. That’s the kind of stuff that keeps people here, feeling connected to the community.”

It’s also another tool for recruiting. Downs said when military-related recruits start with the company, they’ve typically already communicated with other veterans at the firm, learning about available support networks and mentoring opportunities.

Nearly two-thirds of the companies on this year’s Best For Vets list said they have an active employee group focused on veterans or related community members, helping to sustain a military-friendly atmosphere at work.

About the same percentage said they have military-specific mentorship programs available to eligible employees.

Dexter said officials at Comcast NBCUniversal have noticed their employee support groups increasingly working together on charity and networking projects, bringing their specific communities together in ways that build more camaraderie.

“Nobody in the veteran employee resource group identifies only as a veteran,” she said. “Everybody can identify with multiple other communities, too. ... So, by bringing the various groups together, it just shows how there really is just a place for everyone, and everybody belongs.”

But in recent years, more and more non-veterans can be found in the building, too.

“We really try to engage our military dependent student population along with the veterans,” said Candace Terry, executive director of veterans and military affairs at the university. “We invite them into the lounges, we bring them in because they also earned that by their service as a family member.

Best For Vets 2024 Colleges

“And that’s important, because they offer a unique bridge between the general student population and the veterans. They have an idea of what both lifestyles and identities are like. And they can help share that.”

University of South Carolina was ranked as the #7 school in the 2024 Military Times Best for Vets Colleges rankings in large part because of those types of efforts to both cater to veterans needs and find ways to better integrate transitioning veterans into campus life, through evolving outreach and introduction efforts.

“Right now we have about 900 dependents on campus and about 200 veterans,” Terry said. “It’s really important to us that we make sure all of our military connected students feel included.”

That focus on community building, along with attention to veterans’ and guardsmen’s individual needs, is a common theme among the top schools on the list, compiled annually to highlight the top performing education institutions and their best practices in outreach to the military community.

“We don’t grade schools on the number of veteran students they do or don’t have. It’s more a focus on what their policies are,” said Hilary Niles, survey coordinator for the Best for Vets list.

“Some of that is certainly financial support for military students and to what degree schools go above and beyond the educational benefits already offered. But do they have strategies for working with military-connected students in a way that makes higher education accessible, and that helps those students succeed?”

Extra veteran resources

The University of the Incarnate Word, for example, which was ranked the top school on the list for the last two years, provides annual training and guidance to staff, faculty and students with a “Military 101″ course.

The university also features a unique Space Force ROTC program, and university leadership sends out frequent email reminders on best practices for working with military-connected students.

California State University-San Bernardino, this year’s #12 school, offers employee training focused on military-related disabilities. Texas Tech University, ranked 9 on the list, was just named the new home of the Armed Forces & Society Journal.

At University of Nebraska at Omaha, the second-ranked school on the 2024 Best For Vets list, officials have spent the last two years conducting small group meetings with veterans and military-connected students to talk about their biggest needs and challenges.

“Right now, that focus seems to be on career readiness, things like employer networking and ensuring that when we get those students through our programs, there are opportunities waiting for them,” said Sara Karnowski, director of military and veterans services at UNO.

“So, we’re working on ways to leverage both what veterans bring from their time in the service and what they’ve gained through higher education, and then showing them how to market themselves better to employers. And the response so far has been very positive.”

Almost 11% of University of Nebraska at Omaha’s student population is military connected. The college campus sits about 12 miles from Offutt Air Force Base, home to around 15,000 service members and military dependents.

“So, we have military representation in the area and throughout campus,” Karnowski said. “One of our college deans is a veteran, one of our senior vice chancellors is a veteran. We’ve got veterans in campus security and all the way up through our high-level academic administrators.”

That makes conversations about the needs of veterans and their family members easier to broach at the college, but doesn’t diminish the importance of having those discussions, she said.

Future goals

Terry said one of the ways administrators help foster those conversations at her South Carolina campus is through service projects, such as the school’s annual Sept. 11 memorial ceremonies.

Each year, student veterans plant hundreds of flags to mark the lives lost in the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. And Terry said every year, the number of volunteers grows as the day progresses.

“While our veterans are out there placing those flags, the general student population will stop and engage in conversations about what this event meant to us,” said Terry, a Navy veteran. “And we talk about what it meant to our service, and how it shaped us during that time.

“It’s engaging, because a lot of the students we’re talking to now weren’t alive when that happened.”

Terry said one of the goals of staff at the veterans center in coming years is for more emphasis on faculty involvement on veterans issues and engagement, to build more transitional knowledge for the campus as classes of students cycle through their studies.

Karnowski said officials at University of Nebraska at Omaha are focused on expanding their listening sessions in coming years, with a broader focus on the specific needs of military dependents.

The school in recent years changed the name of its veterans center to the “Military-Connected Resource Center” in an effort to welcome in more military family members, similar to South Carolina’s push.

“I think most of our efforts are going to be spent making sure that we’re intentionally connecting with our students,” she said, “so that they know not only are we trying to recruit them to this institution, but we also want to be there with them as you go through this journey, and then get them into a really good opportunity once they finish.”

Niles said a trend she has seen in compiling the Best For Vets college list in recent years has been universities using the rankings to see how other schools are succeeding, then copying those ideas at their own campuses.

“We get a lot of thank yous every year after this, because it essentially gives everyone a roadmap of what policies to consider,” she said. “It serves as a map for ways to support military connected students.”

In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., and the House Appropriations Committee’s veterans panel Chairman John Carter, R-Texas, accused department leaders of “misinforming Congress” and “inciting a panic among veterans about their benefits being delayed or cut.” They said the misleading information undermines public faith in the institution.

In September, lawmakers approved a $3 billion stopgap spending bill for the VA after officials had warned that benefit checks could be delayed or halted on Oct. 1 — the start of the new fiscal year — if additional cash reserves were not made available to the department.

Weeks earlier, VA leaders — including McDonough — said the budget shortfall came as a result of record-high benefits approvals and medical services usage by veterans in the last fiscal year.

Congress moves to fix VA budget gap, but time is running out

They also warned that Congress needed to pass another $12 billion in funding to cover extra costs in fiscal 2025, an issue the two chambers were expected to bring up upon lawmakers’ return after the election.

But earlier this week, in an update provided to congressional leaders, VA officials said they carried over roughly $5 billion in unspent funds related to benefits accounts from last fiscal year to this fiscal year. Even without the cash infusion approved in September, the department would have held more than $2 billion in cash reserves.

Still, VA leaders said in a memo to lawmakers that the budget infusion was needed “because if we had even been $1 short, we could not certify our payment files and more than 7 million veterans and survivors would have had delays in their disability compensation, pension, and education benefits.”

In a statement Friday afternoon, VA press secretary Terrence Hayes echoed that message.

“Out of an abundance of caution last fiscal year, VA requested additional benefits funding ... Those veterans and survivors rely on those monthly payments, and any delay could have been devastating for them and their families – and that was not a risk that we were willing to take,” he said.

A VA spokesperson said that the funding was designed to avoid that kind of “worst-case scenario” and that VA carried over far less money this year than in previous years.

Still, Bost questioned whether the urgency emphasized by VA leaders in recent weeks was sincere.

“VA leaders repeatedly told us that benefits funding was on the verge of running out and veterans could be harmed,” he said in a statement separate from the letter. “But it turns out that was never true.”

In their update to Congress, VA leaders also said that department health care accounts are not draining as quickly as anticipated, although they anticipate still needing some extra funding to cover the additional workload on the system.

VA saw its highest level of health care appointments ever in fiscal 2024: about 127.5 million, up 6% over the previous fiscal year. More than 796,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care over the last two years, up 37% over the previous two years.

But it is not clear if that influx of new patients will require the full $12 billion estimated by VA planners earlier this year.

Bost and Carter in their letter lamented the “erroneous” estimates given to lawmakers in recent months and promised a full investigation into the budgeting confusion.

Congress is expected to return to Washington later this month to finish up the current session, before newly elected members are seated in January. Unfinished work includes resolving the federal budget plan for the rest of fiscal 2025. Departments are currently operating under a short-term budget extension set to expire in December.

Here are several of the most competitive vet-versus-vet contests, and a closer look at the candidates involved:

Here are all the veterans running for Congress in 2024

Virginia 2nd House District

This southeast Virginia district — which includes Hampton Roads and a large number of military voters — has been represented by a series of veterans since 2010 and three different Navy veterans since 2016.

In 2022, Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans unseated former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in a contest that featured two former sailors. This year, Kiggans is facing Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal, another Navy veteran.

Cotter Smasal is a former Navy surface warfare officer. Kiggans is a retired Navy helicopter pilot who currently sits on the House Veterans’ Affairs and House Armed Services Committees.

The incumbent Kiggans has made her work on the veterans panel a key campaign talking point, promising better care and more accountability within the Department of Veterans Affairs. But Cotter Smasal has criticized Kiggans’ votes on limiting VA funding and restricting abortion access for military women.

The Cook Political Report rates the race as slightly favoring the Republican candidate.

Pennsylvania 17th House District

Democrats have occupied this western Pennsylvania seat since 2002, and will likely need to keep hold of it if they hope to take a majority in the chamber next year.

Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Naval Academy graduate, won the seat in 2022 by fewer than 7% of the total ballots cast and is facing a similarly tight election battle this year. His opponent, Republican Rob Mercuri, is a West Point graduate who has served in the Pennsylvania state legislature.

Both men deployed to Iraq during their military careers and have prominently featured their military service in their advertising campaigns.

Deluzio serves on the House Armed Services Committee and briefly sat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Mercuri has vowed to make reforming VA and strengthening national security key priorities if elected.

The Cook Political Report rates the race as slightly favoring the Democratic candidate.

Iowa 3rd House District

This central Iowa district has switched party control three times in the last 12 years. Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, an Air Force veteran, unseated the previous Democratic office holder in 2022. Now, Democrat Lanon Baccam, an Iowa National Guardsman, is hoping to flip it back.

Both Nunn and Baccam deployed to Afghanistan as part of their time in the military. Nunn still serves in the Iowa Air National Guard, and flew more than 700 combat hours during missions in the Middle East. Baccam served as a combat engineer, focusing on explosive demolitions.

Nunn served on the White House’s National Security Council prior to his time in Congress. Baccam worked in the Department of Agriculture, overseeing veterans programs there.

The Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up. All of Iowa’s four House seats and two Senate seats are currently held by Republicans, making the state a key battle point if GOP leaders hope to hold on to their House majority.

Virginia 7th House District

Of the 19 vet-versus-vet races this cycle, three are in Virginia, the most of any state. Virginia’s 7th House District, located just south of Washington, features a matchup between two challengers bidding to replace Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who is running for governor of the state.

The district was held by Republicans for 46 years before Spanberger’s victory in 2018. Now, Republican Derrick Anderson and Democrat Eugene Vindman — both Army veterans — are looking to fill the vacancy.

Vindman is a former White House National Security adviser and brother of Alexander Vindman, a witness in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. He deployed to Iraq during his military career but sparred with the Trump administration over his own role as a whistleblower in the impeachment.

Anderson deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret. He served in the White House during the Trump administration in the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up.

Dan Osborn, an independent candidate for one of Nebraska’s Senate seats, has been tied or leading incumbent Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in multiple recent polls. If he manages to win the closely contested race, the result could shake up the balance of power in the chamber, and establish a template for independent candidates to find success in future races.

Osborn served four years in the Navy including a tour aboard the aircraft carrier Constellation. After leaving active duty, he has served with both the Tennessee National Guard and Nebraska Army National Guard.

Here are all the veterans running for Congress in 2024

He announced his candidacy in September 2023 to little fanfare and has pledged not to caucus with either the Republicans or Democrats if he is elected, solidifying his independent message. The union leader has worked as an industrial mechanic and leaned heavily on his outsider status during his campaign.

“Less than 2% of our elected officials in the House and Senate come from the working class,” he said during a recent interview on the Independent Americans podcast about his run for office. “We’re just simply not represented. And that’s why the independent piece of the race is so important to me.

“I’m not going to be beholden to a party boss or a corporation. I’m going to be beholden to the people who elected me.”

Fischer is a two-term senator who sits on the chamber’s Armed Services Committee and has made her role in national military and veterans policy a selling point in the campaign.

But Osborn has attacked her record on those issues, including her opposition to the PACT Act in 2022. He has promised to boost troops’ pay and back more job training programs for veterans if elected.

Osborn earned the endorsement of Independent Veterans of America earlier this summer. He said his time in the service helped shape his world view and has given him a better approach to public service.

“It instills a discipline in you that never goes away,” he said on the podcast. “That has helped shape my work ethic. I have a certain level of focus that I don’t believe I would have had otherwise.”

There are no current independent House members. The Senate currently has four independent members, but only two — Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — were elected as independents. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema both ran for office as Democrats and later switched their party affiliation.

Both Manchin and Sinema will leave the chamber at the end of this session. If Osborn upsets Fischer, he would become a key swing vote on a host of contentious Senate issues and could demand special attention from both sets of party leaders in need of an extra vote to advance their agendas.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

Tester’s reelection bid is one of the most closely watched races in the country because it could decide which party controls the Senate in 2025.

Democratic Party members currently have a one-seat advantage in the Senate but are expected to lose at least one spot due to the retirement of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. If Tester loses, it could swing the majority to Republicans.

Recent polls have shown the 68-year-old incumbent trailing his Republican opponent, former Army Ranger Tim Sheehy. Tester, who has served in the Senate since 2007, had considered retirement before opting to run again this cycle.

Fewer vets will be on the November ballot for Congress this year

Tester serves as both the chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s panel on defense issues. In both posts, he has been a top voice on military and veterans funding issues and was a prominent figure in advancing the sweeping PACT Act two years ago.

His departure would have significant ripple effects throughout the Senate Democratic caucus, given his committee roles and position as a moderate leader within the party.

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.

In 2022, Calvert won his reelection bid over Democrat Will Rollins by fewer than 11,000 votes, less than 5% of the total ballots cast in the race. The two will square off again this November, with polling showing an equally tight contest.

Redistricting by state officials for California’s 41st congressional district left Calvert with a less favorable election map two years ago than in his previous 14 election bids. Before 2022, Calvert — the longest-serving Republican member of California’s congressional delegation — had won each of his campaigns over the last decade by sizable margins.

Calvert serves as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel, leading debate on Defense Department funding issues. In recent years, that has included a number of social policy changes tacked onto spending bills, much to the chagrin of Democratic critics.

If he loses this cycle, it would not only mean the removal of his voice from Republican military budget debates, but it could also mean the end of the GOP majority in the House. Democratic candidates need only to pick up five seats in the chamber to gain a majority for 2025.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.

Bacon is a four-term congressman with a reputation for bipartisanship and a military background. He served for 29 years in the Air Force, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, he was tapped last year with leading the panel’s service member quality of life improvement efforts. That culminated in a lengthy report released earlier this year which called for better pay for junior troops and better support services for military families.

Some of those reforms were included in still-pending legislation before Congress this session. But other proposals are expected to be rolled into the annual defense authorization bill debate next spring.

Whether Bacon will be there to lead that debate remains to be seen. Polls have shown a close contest between him and Democratic challenger Tony Vargas. Similar to Calvert’s race, Bacon’s contest is seen as a critical win for Republicans if they hope to hold onto their majority in the House next year.

“By nearly every metric, VA is smashing records that we had set last year,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said during his annual pre-Veterans Day report on department progress at the National Press Club in Washington. “That means even more care, even more benefits to even more veterans.”

On the medical front, VA saw its highest level of health care appointments ever in fiscal 2024: about 127.5 million, up 6% over the previous fiscal year.

Some of that was driven by the 2022 adoption of the PACT Act, which eased eligibility for medical care and disability benefits for a host of military toxic exposure issues. More than 796,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care in the last two fiscal years, up 37% from the previous 24 months.

VP Harris backs plan to provide medical care for military PFAS victims

On the benefits side, the department processed 2.5 million disability benefit claims in fiscal 2024, a 27% increase over fiscal 2023. Roughly 6.7 million veterans and survivors received $187 billion in benefits last year, another department record.

Officials also saw increases in the number of dental care appointments (6 million, up 9% over fiscal 2023), calls fielded by the Veterans Crisis Line (1.1 million, up 12% from fiscal 2023) and caregiver assistance services (88,095, up 19% from fiscal 2023).

McDonough said the high level of activity points to success in aggressive outreach efforts by the department in recent years and helps justify the growing size of the VA workforce, which topped 450,000 workers last fiscal year.

But he also said department leaders are still committed to doing more. On Tuesday, he unveiled that VA planners have started the rulemaking process to establish bladder cancer and other genitourinary tract cancers as presumptive illnesses for troops stationed at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan.

That group — more commonly known as K2 veterans — were exposed to a host of contaminants including jet fuel and lead paints during their deployments. About 12,000 of the 16,00 troops known to have served there are already enrolled in VA health care.

VA has already granted presumptive condition status for several other illnesses related to base contamination. That move makes it easier for veterans to apply for and receive disability benefits, eliminating paperwork requiring proof of a link between military service and sicknesses later.

He also promised more news soon on efforts to make leukemias and multiple myeloma a presumptive condition for troops exposed to burn pit smoke in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations around the world.

“We’re a new VA, one that works with veterans, and one that delivers outcomes for veterans,” McDonough vowed. “We will no longer take decades to consider new presumptive conditions, but will instead use the tools provided by the PACT Act to move as quickly as possible.”

The rapid expansion of services and benefits to veterans has drawn both praise and concern from lawmakers in recent months, with some questioning if VA can keep pace with their public promises.

VA officials have said they are already about $12 billion short of funding they need for fiscal 2025 to keep pace with the increase in demand from veterans and survivors. Lawmakers are expected to consider a funding boost when they return from their legislative break next month.

Chandler, who served aboard a British motor torpedo boat during the invasion of Normandy that began June 6, 1944, was one of the dwindling cohort of D-Day survivors who gathered last summer to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the landings.

D-Day anniversary marked by dwindling number of veterans

With even the youngest veterans nearing their 100th birthdays, Chandler said he wanted to tell his story to make sure younger people understood the reality of war, not the sanitized version that appears in many history books.

“Let me assure you, what you read in those silly books that have been written about D-Day are absolute crap,” he said in June at an event at Southwick House, on the south coast of England, the Allied headquarters during the Battle of Normandy. “It’s a load of old rubbish. I was there, how can I forget it?’’

Chandler’s torpedo boat was part of a flotilla of British vessels that escorted U.S. Army soldiers to Omaha and Utah beaches during the Iandings.

He was on board as the sun rose June 6, revealing an armada of ships “of all shapes and sizes” stretching from horizon to horizon as waves of aircraft flew overhead. Unfortunately, he said, a navigation error meant the troops he was escorting landed too far to the west and they were mowed down as they hit the beaches, Chandler said.

“It’s a very sad memory because I watched young American Rangers get shot, slaughtered — and they were young. I was 19 at the time. These kids were younger than me.”

“I will never forget the sight of seeing those brave young men fighting and dying as they struggled to get off the beach,” he added.

Remembering D-Day: Key facts about the invasion that altered WWII

After spending three months escorting troops across the English Channel, Chandler’s torpedo boat was transferred to the Adriatic, where it struck a mine and sank April 10, 1945. Nineteen of the 31 crewmen were killed.

The family intends to scatter some of his ashes in the Adriatic so he can be with his mates who are buried at sea. Chandler died of pneumonia Oct. 19, his son Paul said.

Chandler, who went on to a long career in the General Post Office and British Telecommunications, lost his sight in later life.

He had planned to lead the Blind Veterans U.K. contingent during Britain’s annual Remembrance Sunday ceremonies next month in central London accompanied by his granddaughters, Lucy Tucknott, 31, and Faye West, 28. The women plan to march in his place, joining the thousands of veterans who will troop past the Cenotaph, Britain’s national war memorial.

The statue of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson was reported missing Wednesday evening from Rouge Park on Detroit's far west side, police said.

It appeared to have been sawed off at the ankles. Investigators believe the statue was taken sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

Tuskegee Airman Brig. Gen. Charles McGee dies at 102

Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters Friday that officers canvassed the neighborhood and determined the time when the statue was stolen. Surveillance cameras on nearby businesses showed a large rental truck leaving the area.

Officers then spoke to operators of the rental truck company and learned the truck has GPS, Duggan said.

“[Officers] found out the person who rented it was suspected of other robberies,” he said. “They ran him down in real time, caught him. He turned over the statue, confessed and we made two arrests.”

Details of the arrests were not immediately released Friday.

Jefferson was a member of the famed Red Tails during World War II. The unit escorted bombers over Europe. Jefferson was shot down and held as a prisoner of war. He returned home to Detroit following his release.

Jefferson later taught in schools and served as a vice principal. He also helped form the Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Detroit.

The airmen were the nation’s first all-Black air fighter squadron. They trained and fought separately from white fighter units due to segregation in the U.S. military. Their unit was based in Tuskegee, Alabama, but Michigan served as an advanced training ground during the war.

Jefferson's statue was unveiled in June. The ceremony was attended by Duggan, Jefferson’s family and his former students. A plaza for the statue also was built.

Jefferson flew model airplanes in the area of the park where the statue was placed. That field already had been named for him. He was honored in 2021 by the city on his 100th birthday. Jefferson died in 2022.

“Lt. Col. Jefferson was a hero in every sense of the word and so richly deserves this honor,” Duggan said during the statue’s unveiling. “He distinguished himself as a Tuskegee Airman and prisoner of war in World War II, and again at home as a celebrated educator. The people of Detroit are deeply grateful to him for his service and this plaza and statue is a reflection of our collective appreciation.”

Senior Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday granted the release request as part of a lawsuit brought by American Oversight, a non-partisan, nonprofit group dedicated to getting the government to release records.

The group sued for the records to be made public following a Freedom of Information Act request.

“With the election just two weeks away, the American people have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military,” Chioma Chukwu, the group’s interim executive director, said in a statement following the order.

The legal fight stems from Trump’s visit to the storied military cemetery on Aug. 26.

Lawmakers demand Army sanction Trump over Arlington Cemetery visit

The former commander-in-chief and Republican nominee for president visited the site as part of an event commemorating the anniversary of the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers in a terrorist bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in 2021, during the chaotic final days of the American military mission in Afghanistan.

At the invitation of some of those survivors’ family members, Trump took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then visited Section 60 of the cemetery, where many troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.

Shots of Trump smiling and giving a thumbs-up sign alongside service members’ tombstones were later used in campaign spots. In addition, Army officials said, an employee who attempted to stop campaign workers from filming in the area “was abruptly pushed aside” by a Trump campaign staffer.

That individual — who has not been publicly identified — opted not to press charges. Army officials decried the incident, since Trump was warned that “federal laws, Army regulations and DOD policies … clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.”

But they also said they would not pursue any further reprimands or punishments, and did not disclose any further details of the incident. Several Democratic lawmakers have called for a full release of the Army’s report on the visit.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and his staff has released several statements from families of fallen troops involved in the visit who praised the former president for his kindness and attention to their struggles.

Trump campaign officials also initially promised to release video proving that they followed all appropriate cemetery rules, but have thus far declined to provide any such proof.

The unreleased Army records could provide more insight into the level of confrontation between Trump staffers and cemetery staff on the day, and whether the former president helped calm or inflame the situation.

Tuesday’s court order calls for Army officials to make public “responsive, non-exempt records,” which could allow service officials to continue shielding the identity of the employee who claimed to have been assaulted.

Army officials did not provide an immediate timeline of how the information may be released to the public.

The move is a significant boost to the issue of groundwater contamination issues at bases around the country and follows on Harris’ work in President Joe Biden’s administration to better address military toxic exposure issues.

Harris’ support for the Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act — sponsored by Michigan Democrats Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Dan Kildee — came as part of a broader announcement of Latino-focused policies featured in her presidential campaign.

The legislation would require Veterans Affairs officials to provide “health care services and benefits to veterans exposed to PFAS at military installations.”

VA to research link between PFAS chemicals and kidney cancer

The chemicals — used in a host of products like water-repellent clothing and firefighting foams — have been used widely on military bases for the last 50 years and are suspected to be the cause of a host of medical complications, including testicular cancer and thyroid disease.

Last month, VA leaders announced plans to research the link between kidney cancer and exposure to the chemicals, a move that could eventually provide presumptive benefits to thousands of veterans suffering from the illness.

But the Harris-backed legislation would speed up that process, specifically designating exposure to PFAS as a service-connected injury. That distinction is key to ensure eligibility for veterans benefits.

The bill specifically singles out ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, high cholesterol and pregnancy-induced hypertension as conditions believed to be linked to PFAS exposure.

Family members of veterans stationed at bases where PFAS contamination was present could also be eligible for medical care from VA under certain conditions.

Outside advocates have estimated that as many as 700 American military bases worldwide have some level of PFAS contamination issues, potentially impacting hundreds of thousands of troops, veterans and their family members.

Officials with Harris’ campaign said she will also commission an assessment to investigate “the linkages between PFAS and illnesses impacting our service members.”

Two years ago, Biden signed the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act) which granted new disability benefits and medical care options to veterans who suffered illnesses from burn pit smoke, Agent Orange exposure and other chemical contaminations while in the ranks.

Those PACT Act provisions were a key focal point of Biden’s re-election campaign and have also been an issue of emphasis for Harris during military and veterans events.

President Donald Trump, Harris’ Republican opponent in the presidential campaign, has not publicly weighed in on the PFAS issue.

A Marine Corps veteran alleges she was booted from a Delta flight last week for wearing a shirt calling for an end to veteran suicide, according to multiple media reports.

Catherine Banks told NBC Bay Area that the incident occurred Wednesday as she wore a shirt that read, “Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide.”

Banks told NBC that she was attempting to fly out of San Francisco International Airport.

“A male flight attendant was saying, ‘Ma’am, ma’am.’ I looked around, like, ‘Who was he talking to?’ And it was me. He said, ‘You need to get off the plane,’ and I was like, ‘What did I do?’” Banks said, according to NBC.

Banks could not be reached for comment Monday, but NBC reported that she learned why she was booted from the plane while on the jet bridge by a flight attendant.

“He said that shirt you’re wearing is threatening,” Banks said, according to NBC. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m a Marine Corps vet. I’m going to see my Marine sister. I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 22 years and worked for the Air Force for 15 years. I’m going to visit her.’ He said, ‘I don’t care about your service, and I don’t care about her service. The only way you’re going to get back on the plane is if you take it off right now.’”

Army snipers subdue man who tried to open plane’s exit door mid-flight

Banks told NBC that Delta eventually let her get back on her flight, but that she had to sit in the back and missed a connection because of the delay.

Delta said in a statement to Marine Corps Times Monday that the matter had been resolved.

“We appreciate [Banks’] patience as we continued to work to understand what occurred during this event,” Delta said. “Most importantly, we are thankful for her service to our country.”

The airline’s website states that flight crews may remove passengers when their “conduct, attire, hygiene or odor creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.”

Troops, veterans and family members experiencing suicidal thoughts can call or text the 24-hour Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.

In a media roundtable Friday morning, officials from the Vet Voice Foundation — which works closely with the Democratic Party — criticized lawsuits in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Michigan filed by the Republican National Committee questioning the integrity of overseas ballots and suggesting that some could be fraudulent.

The Pennsylvania suit alleges that state officials have moved “to exempt [overseas voters] entirely from any verification requirements,” calling it “an illegally structured election process.”

Six Republican members of Congress from Pennsylvania signed onto the legal challenge. One of those, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, said in a statement that the current process is “unlawfully diluting the rightful ballots of the brave men and women who serve our nation and their family members” by allowing questionable ballots.

Trump claims Dems will ‘cheat’ using military, overseas ballot system

Party officials have said they are not trying to block military votes from overseas, and do not believe the election challenges will have that effect.

But Democratic critics said their political opponents have not provided any evidence of fraud in the overseas voting process, and said they believe the real intent of the lawsuits is to cause confusion and distrust.

“Teams of people from both parties go through a meticulous list of steps to verify the vote count and check for accuracy,” said Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation. “These baseless allegations undermine public trust in our election system, and worse, target the very people who have sworn to protect our Constitution.”

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, passed in 1986, requires that states provide a system for military members, their eligible family and overseas citizens to vote absentee in federal elections.

Nearly 3 million U.S. citizens living abroad are eligible to vote in the November 2024 elections. Less than 4% of that total voted in the 2022 U.S. elections.

Rules regarding absentee ballots vary by state, but generally must be received by Election Day to be counted.

“Each state, including Pennsylvania, has strict laws governing voter registration, verification and ballot transmission to ensure that only eligible citizens vote,” Goldbeck said. “The idea that this process lacks oversight is simply untrue.”

Nearly all overseas ballots have already been mailed out, further complicating questions about eligibility and election security. It’s unclear whether any of the lawsuits will be settled or dismissed ahead of Election Day, which is Nov. 5.

That’s one of the preliminary findings from Army researchers conducting baseline cognitive screenings in an effort to better track — and prevent — brain injuries among troops.

The project, which kicked off in August, created a database of troops’ normal brain functions to provide health officials with a baseline to compare against soldier brains following long deployments, head trauma or other potential damaging incidents. Officials are currently screening new enlistees and individuals in some high-risk jobs, with the goal of reaching all troops by fall 2026.

The service also plans to re-screen soldiers every few years.

“There are times that service members may sustain or have a cognitive change that they have not even recognized yet,” Dr. Steven Porter, a neuroscientist at the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General working on the project, said Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference. “What the testing will be able to do for us is to identify that change and catch it early, so we can prevent any sort of ongoing or continued injury.”

Army launches cognitive screening to track new soldiers’ brain health

The project is still in its early phases, so plans for new training schedules, new equipment development and new recovery programs for injured troops are still mostly theoretical.

But Sgt. Maj. Chris McNamara, human weapon system expert at Army Special Operations Command, told reporters during a presentation at the AUSA conference that preliminary data from blast sensors and brain screenings have started to show activities that cause low-level problems in troops’ heads, giving commanders tools to intervene early.

“When we used to go to our shooting ranges, we would stack [those sessions] all together so that you got training density,” he said. “Now most of our leaders, because they have better decision support tools with a blast profile, spread that out. Now it’s one day every week. And the blast density is lower, and they get more time to recover.”

Col. Jama VanHorne-Sealy, director of the Army’s Occupational Health Directorate, said officials hope to release a new servicemember brain health strategy next spring.

“What that strategy seeks to do is to address the brain health needs of the warfighter, to optimize brain health in multiple environments … and to address the readiness of the force and force health protection against known and emerging hazards,” she said.

“It’s important for the Department of Defense and for the Army to have solutions that really allow us to do the best that we can, to triage personnel, to diagnose folks in austere environments so that we can make smart practice decisions about how to best take care of warfighters.”

From 2000 to 2022, nearly 460,000 servicemembers were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury during training or in combat, according to the Defense Department Inspector General. Officials said finding ways to treat those issues earlier could result in long-term benefits for individuals and force readiness.

The book — which Trump has already publicly decried — also details extensive death threats by Trump supporters against former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley after he had a public falling out with the commander-in-chief.

Milley also expressed concern that Trump could recall him to active duty to put him on trial for treason if he is re-elected to office, a plan that Woodward writes Trump considered for other critical former military leaders during his first term in the White House.

“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” Milley told Woodward in a 2023 interview for the book, entitled “War,” a copy of which was obtained by Military Times ahead of its release this week.

Milley says he’ll ensure family safety after Trump’s execution remark

The volume chronicles the end of Trump’s presidency and the last four years of Joe Biden’s time as commander-in-chief. It’s critical of both men but more so of Trump, suggesting that numerous military leaders worry about his potential return to the Oval Office.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement to the Associated Press that none of the stories in Woodward’s books are true and called the publication “the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Woodward in the book that Milley paid to install bulletproof glass and blast-proof curtains at his home because of threats stemming from Trump supporters, even though he has been given around-the-clock security from federal agencies since his military retirement.

He also detailed to Woodward multiple behind-the-scenes incidents where Trump asked to use U.S. military forces on American soil, potentially in violation of federal law.

This weekend, during a Fox News interview, Trump suggested he may use National Guard and active-duty military forces against “radical left lunatics” he claims are working to undermine stability in America. He has also suggested using the military to respond to immigration problems.

Mattis served as secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019, one of five men to serve in the post during Trump’s four years in the White House. Woodward writes that Mattis viewed Trump as erratic, and worried that he may order drastic military action without fully considering the consequences.

Woodward has previously written four books about the Trump presidency, to which the former president has largely had negative reactions.

Justices likely won’t rule on the case — Bufkin v. McDonough — for months. But the issues involved are being closely monitored by veterans advocates and Department of Veterans Affairs leaders, given the potential changes mandated by the eventual decision.

At issue is how the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and other judicial review boards must interpret the “benefit of the doubt” rule regarding veterans disability claims. Under federal statute, VA adjudicators are required to rule in favor of veterans applying for benefits support “when there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence.”

Advocates have long argued that VA does not follow that standard, requiring veterans to prove their injuries and eligibility beyond doubt to receive payouts.

Supreme Court rules in favor of veteran who sued over GI Bill limits

In 2002, Congress passed legislation requiring the Veterans Appeals Court to ensure the “benefit of the doubt” rule was followed properly in the disability claims process. But court officials have argued that only applies in cases of clear errors, and does not mandate a full review of the case evidence.

The case before the Supreme Court centers on two veterans: Joshua Bufkin, who served in the Air Force from 2005 and 2006, and Norman Thornton, who served in the Army from 1988 to 1991. Both men applied for disability benefits related to injuries they say occurred while serving.

Bufkin was denied a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder, while Thornton was granted a 10% rating for the same condition. Both appealed the decisions and lost.

Lawyers for the men said that subsequent judicial reviews did not conduct a full review of the case, to include whether the “benefit of the doubt” standard was followed. A federal appeals court ruled two years ago that such a move was not needed.

In arguments before the Supreme Court Tuesday, Melanie Bostwick, counsel for the plaintiffs, said that the language adopted by Congress clearly mandates that an appeals panel “has to do a check and make sure that the decisions that it is about to affirm complied with the law.”

But lawyers for the government argued that requiring a full additional review of evidence would be duplicative and inefficient.

In a supporting brief filed ahead of Wednesday’s arguments, officials from the National Veterans Legal Services Program lamented that federal officials’ current practices “have ensured that it is the agency that gets the benefit of the doubt, not veterans … it exacerbates the very problems Congress sought to solve through its [legislation].”

Similarly, officials from Disabled American Veterans offered support for the plaintiffs and said the case “presents a question that is important to the nation’s disabled veterans and their families,” calling the current review procedures “troubling.”

A final decision on the case is expected from the Supreme Court next spring.

The upgrades were announced Tuesday morning by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who said the effort was undertaken “to redress the harms done by ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and other policies on these former service members.”

The review was prompted by complaints among veterans that the process for upgrading discharge status was overly complicated and adversarial.

The changes mean that those veterans for the first time will be able to access certain VA education, health and financial benefits, a potential windfall for them and their families.

The military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy was put in place in 1993 as a compromise to allow some level of military service for gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals. But advocates said the policy was enforced erratically and discriminatorily, and forced those troops to keep secrets about their personal lives from friends and commanders, to the detriment of unit cohesiveness.

Pentagon to revisit ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ discharges

Nearly 13,500 service members were forced out of the military under the policy, according to Defense Department records.

The policy was repealed in 2011, allowing LGBT individuals to serve openly in the ranks for the first time. In his statement Tuesday, Austin said that because of military review policies in recent years, 96% of the individuals forced out of the service under the law have now been awarded honorable discharge status.

“We will continue to honor the service and the sacrifice of all our troops, including the brave Americans who raised their hands to serve but were turned away because of whom they love,” he said. “We will continue to strive to do right by every American patriot who has honorably served their country.”

Defense officials said individuals eligible for upgrades because of the most recent review will be contacted by department staffers on next steps for getting appropriate paperwork and benefits applications.

Veterans Affairs leaders and congressional officials in recent years have pointed to the proposed medical lease sites as a valuable tool in expanding care options for veterans.

But the roughly $670 million set aside by lawmakers for those 15 projects was not enough to pay for the planned spaces, according to preliminary bids. And since getting that news, officials for months have been unable to move ahead on the process for getting new bids on the projects, largely due to behind-the-scenes concerns over pricing guidelines.

The stalled projects are located in 12 different states, including two in Texas and three in Florida. Fourteen are potential new outpatient clinics, while one in Tampa, Fla., is a planned community living center.

Vets’ PACT Act claims continue to rise, two years after law’s passage

As part of the PACT Act — sweeping veterans benefits legislation signed into law in August 2022 — Congress authorized and funded 31 new major VA leases, designed to expand medical and support service options for veterans across the country. In all, the projects were expected to provide 2.8 million square feet of additional health care space and serve more than 3.6 million veterans in coming years.

At the time of the legislation’s passage, VA officials touted the authorizations as a win for veterans, allowing planners to move faster in creating new medical spaces than the traditional construction and facility acquisition process.

Since June 2023, one lease has been awarded and 15 more are in the final steps of being approved, according to department officials.

VA press secretary Terrence Hayes acknowledged that “for the remaining 15 leases, VA has received offers that exceeded authorized funding levels, which VA cannot accept under law.”

That means officials will have to rework and resubmit those proposals to lawmakers with new parameters and cost guidelines before moving ahead. Congressional committees will have to grant final approval on any substantial changes before they can proceed.

Hayes said the money set aside for the work does not expire, so the delays do not endanger funding for the projects.

But individuals familiar with the process told Military Times that VA and Office of Management and Budget officials have been sparring since early spring over methodology for calculating rates and cost adjustments, a bureaucratic fight that has set back the project.

OMB officials did not return requests for comment on the matter. VA officials would not comment on correspondence with OMB leaders.

The technical fight has repeatedly pushed back opportunities to move ahead with the search for new locations for the clinics, even as VA officials have emphasized the need for more medical options for veterans. Congressional staff said they expected the new leases to be submitted for approval months ago, and are unsure exactly where VA and the White House stand in the current process.

If the new leases aren’t approved by the end of the year, the process could be forced to start over completely under a new administration and Congress, pending the results of the November elections.

That could mean months more waiting for the leases to be approved and even longer for facility staff opening doors to provide care to veterans. As it stands, even if the projects do move ahead in the next few weeks, it’s unlikely that doors for the new clinics will open before mid-2025.

Hayes said department leaders remain “fully committed to providing timely access to world-class care at these sites, and we are exploring all possible options, including working with Congress, to move forward on these leases.”

VA officials have not released completion dates for any of the PACT Act lease projects, or when they expect to resubmit paperwork to Congress on the problematic ones.

The agency’s decision, based on federal estimates of private-sector wages, sets the rate of increase not only for Social Security beneficiaries but also military retirees and individuals receiving veterans benefits. The increase will go into effect in January.

In a statement, Commissioner of Social Security Martin O’Malley said the cost-of-living increase will “help tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool.”

But the 2.5% rate is well below what retirees and beneficiaries have enjoyed in recent years. The mark was 3.2% in 2023, 8.7% in 2022 and 5.9% in 2021.

Vets benefits to mirror Social Security cost-of-living boost

For a veteran receiving $1,500 a month in disability payouts, a cost-of-living adjustment of 2.6% would mean an extra $38 a month. In 2023, the increase meant a boost of around $48 a month for that same veteran.

About 5 million veterans and 2 million military retirees receive benefits checks each month through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Last month, lawmakers passed legislation tying the increase in those benefits to the Social Security rate, an annual requirement that is typically non-controversial.

The cost-of-living increase would apply to payouts for disability compensation, clothing allowances and dependency and indemnity benefits, as well as some other VA assistance programs.

About 68 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. Agency officials said the average beneficiary will receive a boost of about $50 a month under the adjustment.

Social Security staffers will begin notifying individuals about the changes to their benefits by mail starting in early December.