Veterans rally to defend democracy

Hundreds of veterans gathered on the National Mall on Friday to call on Congress to take action against the Trump administration. Demonstrators, including veterans from the Korean War, Iraq and Kazakhstan, traveled from across the country to participate.

Organizers selected March 14, or 3/14, as a symbolic reference to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars individuals who have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding office. The Fourteenth Now! movement has labeled President Donald Trump an “adjudicated insurrectionist” following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

"In honor of our brave veterans, our message is unequivocal: we demand the immediate removal of this administration by any and all constitutional means," said Jessica Denson, a former Trump aide and founding member of Fourteenth Now!, in a statement. Similar protests took place at state capitols nationwide.

Many veterans wore uniforms displaying their branch of service or specialty, while others concealed their identities with patriotic face coverings, including American flag bandanas. David Radcliffe, a veteran, initially hesitated to attend but felt compelled to participate.

“I am not going to protests because I want to,” Radcliffe wrote in a Facebook post. “I am going because I can and feel I must. After 30 years of wearing a uniform and being a non-partisan civil servant dedicated to serving the American people … I am compelled to speak out.”

Radcliffe was not alone. Some veterans who had voted for Trump felt betrayed by his actions as his administration continues to dismantle veteran benefits and services.

As veterans rallied on the National Mall, others joined in solidarity, including federal workers affected by mass layoffs, District of Columbia residents, and citizens supporting Ukraine and Canada.

Federal layoffs hit veterans hard

The federal government is the largest employer of veterans, with nearly 30% of its 2.3 million civilian federal workforce in 2024 having served in the military. According to House Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, a Republican-backed effort to eliminate 75% of the federal workforce could put up to 500,000 veterans at risk. So far, nearly 6,000 veteran employees have already been laid off.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been significantly impacted, with approximately 2,400 positions cut and plans for an additional 80,000 layoffs — an 18% reduction from December 2024 staffing levels, according to analysis of data released by the U.S. Department of Labor and Veterans Affairs Office.

The layoffs have been particularly severe for residents of the District of Columbia, where federal employment accounted for 24.5% of jobs. Between Jan. 1 and March 1, D.C. unemployment claims spiked to 11,748 — a 166% increase compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis of data released by the Department of Labor.

Nationwide, 62,530 federal job cuts had been announced through February, marking a staggering 41,311% increase from 2024, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In February, U.S. employers reported 172,017 job cuts, a 245% increase from last year and the highest level since July 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senate Democrats split on cloture vote

As demonstrators chanted, “do your job” on the National Mall, thousands of calls flooded Senate offices.

“Today’s high call volume seems to be causing issues with voicemail systems in Senate offices, including ours,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) posted on X. “And ICYMI and were calling to ask - Senator Kim is a NO on the CR.”

Callers urged lawmakers to reject a cloture motion scheduled for a vote that afternoon. If it failed, it would block the Republican-backed short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, from advancing. While final passage required a simple majority, cloture needed 60 votes, giving Democrats the ability to filibuster the measure.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) faced backlash from within his party for supporting cloture, with some Democrats arguing that allowing the measure to proceed was worse than a partial government shutdown. The legislation grants Trump the authority to reallocate funds without judicial oversight.

The CR also faced opposition from D.C. residents, who stood to lose $1 billion from their 2025 budget. Military leaders warned that defense budget cuts would have lasting consequences, with top officers from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy testifying that reductions would harm readiness and battlefield preparedness.

The measure threatens the historic PACT Act, a Biden administration initiative expanding benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances such as Agent Orange.

While Democrats faced scrutiny, speaker Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, representing a movement calling upon Americans to stand against fascism, directly addressed Republicans.

There are Republicans in Congress who know that Donald Trump is a danger to the nation, unfit to serve, a fraud, a criminal and a coward, said Álvarez-Aranyos.

“And yet, they stay silent. They stay silent because they fear his followers. They stay silent because they fear him. They stay silent because they have convinced themselves that someone else is going to fix this. So today, we send this message to every Republican in Congress who still believes in the rule of law. Stand the fuck up,” he said, voice quivering with anger.

“You can stand with Donald Trump, or you can stand with America. You can continue to cower in the shadows, or you can step forward and do what’s right.”

The cloture passed by two votes (62-38), with Schumer, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), and eight other Democrats voting in favor, including Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Angus King (I-Maine).

Later that evening, the Senate passed the CR by a simple majority, with most Democrats voting against it — a seemingly empty gesture after allowing it to advance.

For the first time, the Department of Defense will operate under the previous fiscal year's budget despite rising costs. Congress added $6 billion to the Pentagon’s budget to mitigate the impact, including funding for a junior enlisted pay raise previously passed under the Biden administration.

Sen. Tammy Ducksworth (D-Ill.) proposed an amendment to reinstate veterans fired under the Trump administration, but it failed along party lines, with all 53 Republicans voting against it.

"Senate Republicans love to say they support our nation's Veterans on Fox News," Duckworth and Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said in a joint statement. "But every single one of them just voted against giving our heroes their jobs back."

One measure did pass: the Senate approved funding to prevent the $1 billion cut to D.C.’s budget. However, with lawmakers now in recess, the House won’t take up the issue until late March, leaving local officials and residents in limbo.

Trump signed the continuing resolution on Saturday.

Veterans vow to keep fighting

During the rally, veterans and civilians stood together and recited the U.S. military oath of enlistment, vowing to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

Radcliffe argued that veterans could be critical in mobilizing bipartisan opposition to Trump and congressional inaction.

“We veterans add gravitas and credibility to the opposition message,” Radcliffe wrote. “Each veteran was there because they have seen something or heard something from this administration that violated the sacred oath to the Constitution that each of them took.”

As the demonstration concluded, veterans and allies pledged to continue organizing, advocating and making their voices heard.

“You need to demand that everybody, from Chuck Schumer to AOC, from Jared Moskowitz to Jasmine Crockett, start demanding Donald Trump’s removal from office,” Denson urged from the event stage. “Don’t give them a dime until they do. Don’t retweet their rage posts. You make them take action!”

The next mass mobilization is scheduled for Saturday, April 5th.