Column: Trump Administration Hurting Montana Veterans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
CONTACT
gaby@montanademocrats.org
A new column by veteran and Montana resident Jakob Miles outlines how President Trump’s federal cuts and tariffs are hitting veterans particularly hard across the state and the entire country.
The column highlights how federal workforce slashes disproportionately affect veterans because the federal government is the largest single employer of veterans in the country. Miles also notes important mental health services are being threatened not only by cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs but also Republicans in the Legislature voting down bills to support suicide prevention services.
Read more below.
Lee Newspapers: Veterans are being attacked
April 5, 2025
Jakob Miles, Veteran, Montana Army National Guard
Donald Trump’s administration is directly attacking veterans while national and state Republicans do nothing to stop it. Every single biological member of my family served this country from four to twenty-two years. Like so many other veterans, my mother and father both found their way back to working for the federal government. If they were not already retired, both of them would be faced with the turmoil and uncertainty this administration brings.
Thousands of my fellow veterans are losing their jobs or working with the added stress of not knowing how long their job will last. We already live in a country that has time and time again failed to honor the promise it made to everyone in uniform. From the homeless veteran population to the horrifying veteran suicide rate, this administration is going to leave more veterans out on the streets or be what makes them take their own lives.
It’s not just the national level where these attacks are being made, though. Right here in our state legislature, we have seen a bill to provide funding for suicide prevention for service members, veterans, and their families cut down to a third of the original asking amount, and it has almost died in committee twice because of the Republicans voting against it.
Our congressional delegation has continued to vote to enable Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s attacks on federal workers, and recently Senator Sheehy said the economically disastrous tariffs will cause “short-term pain.” Not acknowledging that some of the very same people who wore the same American flag on their right shoulder as he did won’t be able to feed their families, put gas in their vehicles, or keep the lights on.
Now is the time to stand up, get engaged, make your voice heard, and take action to save lives.
Jakob Miles is a resident of Helena, MT, and served for 10 years in the Montana Army National Guard.
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