Veterans health care may be limited by the Department of State

President-elect Donald Trump’s newly created administration could affect health care for veterans if plans to cut deficits for expiring bills go ahead.

Trump announced on Tuesday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Operations, or DOGE, once he takes office in January. Trump said DOGE, which will not be a federal agency, will “reduce excessive regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and reorganize Federal agencies.”

Ramaswamy, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination before suspending his campaign in January, has long said spending on expiring programs should be stopped. In a post on X, which was formerly Twitter, Ramaswamy cited $516 billion spent on completed actions for the 2024 fiscal year.

“There are 1,200+ programs that are no longer approved but still receiving cuts,” which he described as “absolutely fantastic” and advocated saving “hundreds of billions of dollars” each year by ” to restore federal programs that Congress no longer authorizes.”

Officials can expire and continue to receive appropriations—a law of Congress that gives the agency the power to control spending—depending on congressional approval. Among those ending cuts is the Veteran’s Health Care Act, which would have reached $119 billion in federal spending for 2024.

The act provides health care benefits to those who served in the military, navy or air force and did not receive a dishonorable discharge. Provides outpatient services such as health appointments, immunizations, nutrition education, and inpatient services such as surgeries, intensive care, and other conditions or injuries that may require emergency care. urgent. This initiative ended in 1998 but is still funded on a regular basis.

Newsweek reached out to Ramaswamy and Trump’s teams for comment via email.

The current spending on all actions eliminated is $516 billion for the fiscal year 2024, down slightly from 2023 when the cost was $519 billion. Other actions that could reduce spending include the 21st Century Endowment Act, which supports biomedical research and costs $48 billion for fiscal year 2024, and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act , which deals with the management of foreign affairs and costs $ 38 billion for 2024.

Reorganizing the Department of Veterans Affairs, as outlined by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, is also likely to coincide with a second Trump presidency. The 900-page policy plan for the incoming conservative administration advocates increasing “strong political control” of the VA, removing access to abortion for VA health care recipients and testing its regulations for disability assistance.

Trump has repeatedly refused to participate in the 2025 mission. However, many former Trump aides played an important role in its development, most notably Brooks Tucker, who wrote chapter of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brooks previously served as VA chief of staff during the first Trump administration.

In August, the nonprofit Center for Veterans Healthcare Policy said in its Project 2025 analysis that “Trump’s second term will eliminate veterans’ health care and benefits.”

“The Heritage Plan aims to finish, in the second Trump administration, the work to dismantle the VA that began in the first,” the agency said. “It’s a callous approach to those who have risked their lives for this country.”