Veterans groups fear Trump will 'burn down' VA

By BRYAN BENDER 12/02/16 05:04 AM EST

Donald Trump won the White House pledging to use his business acumen to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs, the poster child for government mismanagement — even if he has to "pick up the phone and fix it myself."

But Trump’s leading candidates to run the troubled Cabinet department strike fear in many veteran's advocates, current and former agency officials and members of Congress, who worry that the new administration will aim to gut the VA and privatize many of its services.

Whether Trump chooses Sarah Palin, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, conservative activist Peter Hegseth, outgoing Rep. Jeff Miller or former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown — all reported to be in the running — the advocates say they are bracing for an ideological assault on the $180 billion-a-year agency with 350,000 employees.

"The worst case scenario within the vets community is a total dismantling of everything they worked generations to create," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, who has been critical of the VA. "There is a growing fear it is all going to get burned down."

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