Editor’s note: This report has been updated with a comment from JD Vance’s campaign staff.
Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance in an interview Wednesday said he would “consider” plans to privatize parts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and push for more private-health care options for patients in the system if elected this fall.
In an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast released Wednesday, the Ohio senator (who is former President Donald Trump’s running mate) also said he would fire or cut thousands of federal civilian jobs, including many within VA.
“Probably 90% to 95% of the people at the VA are fantastic human beings, but then you’ve got a small slice of the VA [who are] bad apples that makes it really hard for everybody else to do their job,” he said.
“This is why veterans spend three hours on the phone trying to get an appointment. This is why you have people commit suicide, because they’re waiting 28 days to get an appointment with the doctor. It’s a small sliver of the VA, but you can fire those people, right? Give the people who are doing their job a raise. Fire the people who aren’t doing their jobs.”
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Both Ryan and Vance are veterans. Vance said he has used VA hospitals for his own health care in the past, but understands frustration with the system and would listen to proposals for privatizing parts of the department.
When Ryan asked “would you ever consider privatized health care for veterans?” Vance responded by saying “I think I’d consider it” before shifting to thoughts on Trump’s past veterans policies.
“I think that there are areas where the VA actually works very well,” he said. “So I would not say, ‘get rid of the whole thing.’ But I would say, ‘give people more choice.’ I think you’ll save money in the process.”
A spokesman for Vance on Thursday afternoon denied that the nominee supports defunding parts of the VA and blasted the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris for creating a controversy where one did not exist.
“In the full exchange, Senator Vance clearly says he would not privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs,” William Martin said in a statement. “The Kamala campaign is once again twisting his words and lying about his position because they have nothing but a record of abject failure to run on. They should be ashamed for intentionally lying about a veteran when it comes to providing quality care and coverage for our veterans.”
The issue of cutting back VA services and shifting those funds to private-sector doctors and businesses has been a point of contention in the veterans community in recent years, especially since then-President Donald Trump signed legislation designed to make it easier for veterans to have medical appointments outside of VA paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Democratic critics — and some veterans advocates — have charged that continuing to expand such policies would lead to dismantling VA funding and programming in favor of private-sector profits, a charge that Republican lawmakers have angrily refuted.
“I love being lectured and gaslit by Democratic members on this panel … about how we’re trying to privatize the VA,” Rep. Ei Crane, R-Ariz., said during a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on the VA budget on Tuesday. “That is absolutely not what we are trying to do.”
The VA budget has grown significantly in recent years. In fiscal 2001, the entire VA budget amounted to $48 billion in spending. Ten years ago, that total was $153.9 billion. The request for fiscal 2025 from the department is nearly $330 billion.
VA officials said roughly 40% of all veterans health care appointments in fiscal 2023 were handled by doctors outside the department’s health care system, and that the number of veterans using Community Care options has risen by 45% since fiscal 2019.
But Vance said during the podcast that too many veterans are still forced to drive hours to receive VA health care instead of being given private-sector options.
“Why force a veteran to drive two and a half hours to a VA facility when he can get cheaper care right in his backyard?” he said. “So I do think that we ought to open up choice and optionality for veterans.”
Trump has not spoken specifically on VA privatization in recent campaign appearances, but has spoken about expanding veterans access to care options.
Democratic opponents in recent weeks have attacked plans in the conservative Project 2025 blueprint calling for “cost savings” in VA disability payments, to include “revising disability rating awards for future claimants.” Trump has denied any authorship or connection to the project.
In a statement, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a veteran and a Harris-Walz campaign co-chair, blasted Vance’s comments.
“When JD Vance floats the Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda to privatize the VA, we should take him seriously,” she said. “Veterans deserve better than candidates who will turn their health care into a business opportunity the minute they get the chance. The VA isn’t just another government agency – it’s a lifeline for veterans, families, and caregivers who’ve sacrificed for our freedoms.”
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
