SLO County veterans rally against Trump, DOGE layoffs. ‘All of this is a big tragedy’
Editor’s note: This story is part of The Tribune’s coverage of the federal firings in San Luis Obsipo County and the human cost of government efficiency efforts. If you have a story to share, you can reach us by filling out this form.
A rally was held in San Luis Obispo on Friday afternoon in support of veterans — both local and nationwide.
The event was organized in response to federal layoffs and cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which some say could jeopardize veterans’ benefits.
It was held in conjunction with a series of marches and protests nationwide — all held on March 14 as a nod to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies elected officials from holding office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the government.
An organizer told The Tribune the event was held to “honor the veterans who do live here and say that we’re not abandoning them.”
More than 50 people gathered at the corner of Grand Avenue and Monterey Street near the SLO Veterans Memorial Building starting around 3 p.m. on Friday.
Passing cars mainly honked and waved in support. One college-aged man heckled the crowd, chanting “Trump” from the window of his pickup truck.
Dan Conroy, a veteran who spent six years in the Army National Guard infantry, was one of the many in attendance.
“What I’m seeing at this point is an absolutely unconscionable violation of trust and one which should not take place in this country,” Conroy told The Tribune. “That’s why I’m here.”
Conroy held a sign that read, “PRESIDENT MUSK WTF??” a callout to Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO in charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency responsible for the thousands of federal layoffs across all of government.
“I think it’s important to be here today so that we don’t end up betraying the people who wore the uniform, who defended the country, who — if they came home at all — may have come home injured psychologically and/or physically, and it’s important to stay the course with respect to respecting them,” Conroy said.
Kizan Sugano, another attendee, works for the SLO County Democratic Party office, which helped publicize the rally.
“Veterans need support, veterans need help,” Sugano said. “There are plenty of veterans that are needing the services that are being closed down.”
Sugano has a relative working for the federal Veterans Affairs agency in another state who has struggled to keep their job, he said.
“All of this is a big tragedy,” Sugano said.
Another rally was also held in Paso Robles on Friday organized by the Paso Robles Democratic Club, the Paso Robles Daily News reported.
Thousands of VA employees laid-off nationwide
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs dismissed a total of 2,400 probationary employees nationwide over the last month, Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz told The Tribune. The non-mission critical positions included publicists; interior designers; and diversity, equity and inclusion officers, he said.
On Feb. 13, the agency announced the dismissal of more than 1,000 probational employees, then announced another 1,400 dismissals of probational and “non-mission critical positions” on Feb. 25.
According to the federal Veterans Affairs spokesperson, the San Luis Obispo Vet Center did not lose any staff due to the layoffs. The Santa Maria VA Clinic also did not dismiss any probationary staff, according to the agency. The spokesperson was unable to confirm if any employees had been dismissed from the San Luis Obispo VA Clinic at the the time of publishing this story.
“We want to reform the department so we can serve veterans better than ever before,” a spokesperson said in a statement to The Tribune. “VA (Veterans Affairs) is already redirecting billions of dollars from non-mission critical efforts to Veteran-facing services, which will result in massive improvements without cutting health care or benefits.”
“We have an obligation to make VA (Veterans Affairs) work better for the veterans, families, caregivers and survivors we are charged with serving, and that is exactly what we will do,” the agency spokesperson said.
In response to the protests over the agency’s firings, Kasperowicz characterized the national backlash as “rumor, innuendo and disinformation.”
“The Biden Administration astronomically grew the department’s budget and number of employees, and VA wait times and backlogs increased,” Kasperowicz told The Tribune. “We are doing things differently. But the legacy media, government union bosses and some in Congress are working together to use rumor, innuendo and disinformation to spread fear in the hopes that the department will just keep in place the status quo.”
Kasperowicz said VA health care has been on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list since 2015 and still is to this day.
“VA has had serious problems for at least ten years running,” Kasperowicz said. “That’s why our efforts to reform the department are so important.”
Kasperowicz pointed out that the layoffs account for half a percent of the agency’s workforce.
“The notion that these layoffs are causing issues across the department is false,” he said.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 6:39 PM.
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