Trump's Empty Promise: 6,000 Homeless Vets Left in the Lurch

Trump's administration promised to house 6,000 homeless veterans at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Campus, yet the budget unveiled zero dollars for this initiative.

Vincent Tourville, an Iraq War veteran, lives on the West Los Angeles VA Campus with his 2-year-old son. After his deployment in 2009, he battled combat PTSD, spiraling into a life of chaos. He traveled from Maine to California, struggling to survive. "I went from truck stop to truck stop, just drinking and begging for money," he recalls.

Tourville finally reached Venice Beach, feeling a sense of accomplishment despite having no direction. He ended up at the VA, specifically the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Campus—a sprawling 387-acre site given to veterans in 1888. This campus has been plagued by lawsuits, homelessness, and corruption for decades. Yet Tourville credits it with saving his life.

He transitioned from sleeping on the beach and in his car to a safe parking program on campus. This program provided him with one hot meal and a place to sleep. Eventually, he moved into a room but had to stay drug- and alcohol-free. The VA staff helped him secure disability benefits and ultimately an apartment for him and his son.

Despite his gratitude, Tourville faces serious challenges at the West LA Campus. His building is infested with cockroaches, even finding them in his son's crib. Open drug use and prostitution plague the area.

"You can't come in demanding something when you're asking for help," he states, emphasizing that standards should be met given the resources available.

A year ago, the Trump administration excited veterans groups with an executive order aimed at housing 6,000 veterans at a new National Center for Warrior Independence on the LA campus. The administration's abrupt termination of long-held leases unrelated to veterans raised hopes. However, confusion soon followed.

Housing construction delays for veterans have persisted through four presidential administrations. LA veterans groups won two lawsuits over the past 15 years mandating immediate housing construction on the campus. The Biden administration appealed a 2024 court ruling and lost. In February, the Trump administration shocked veterans groups by appealing that ruling again while simultaneously claiming intentions to build. When the proposed budget was released in April, it included no funding for housing any of the promised 6,000 veterans.

A recent House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing shed light on the situation but raised more questions. California Democrat U.S. Rep. Mark Takano highlighted that VA staff cuts left insufficient support for over 1,200 veterans currently on campus, let alone the proposed 6,000.

Takano warned that this concentration of veterans without adequate support jeopardizes safety and mental health. "If we do not act ... I fear we will doom this property to become a vast West Side skid row," he said.

The rationale behind Trump's 6,000 figure remains unexplained. It exceeds the number of homeless veterans in all of Los Angeles and raises suspicions about plans to bus in homeless veterans from across the country. The administration has required VA officials and local advocates to sign nondisclosure agreements, leaving Congress uninformed about critical details. The committee received the plan for the National Center for Warrior Independence just before the hearing—eight months overdue.

"Do you believe you are above congressional oversight?" asked Mike Bost, the Republican head of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, addressing VA officials during the hearing.

Bost insisted that transparency must be prioritized. "If agreements or delays are hiding behind NDAs, we will demand answers," he stated, emphasizing that taxpayers and veterans deserve clarity on land use and progress.

Danielle Runyan, senior counselor to the VA secretary, attributed failures to brief Congress to ongoing litigation over land use inherited from previous administrations. She assured lawmakers of monthly updates moving forward.

Runyan claimed that housing capacity on the campus increased from 955 to 1,377 beds during Trump's first year in office; however, none of this resulted from the executive order.

Officials at the hearing dodged questions about why the budget request included no funding for new beds on campus. When approached for comment, VA press secretary Quinn Slaven stated that security measures like additional police officers and lighting were being implemented.

Slaven asserted that the VA is working hard to implement Trump's executive order for a National Center for Warrior Independence on campus to restore its capacity for thousands of homeless veterans. She mentioned reclaiming sections of the campus previously leased to private companies.

Slaven indicated that requests for proposals for additional housing would be released soon; however, gaps in the plan drew bipartisan criticism.

Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden expressed skepticism about claims of $500 million as a down payment without clear cost estimates. "This is corruption, and it's gonna stop now," he declared.

Longtime observers of the West LA campus share Van Orden's doubts about accountability regarding funds allocated over various administrations. Anthony Allman from Vets Advocacy noted that $98 million is earmarked for renovating a building already funded for renovation in 2019. The VA did not respond to inquiries about this financial discrepancy.

Allman has monitored the West LA Campus project for over a decade and has lost faith in the VA's ability to manage construction projects effectively.

"The VA is really a healthcare agency. It's not designed to be a community developer," Allman concluded.