Trump ends care network for LGBTQ+ veterans, internal email shows. Providers condemn 'cruel erasure'

The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun dismantling the national infrastructure supporting its LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator program, ending specialized meetings and communications, archiving online resources, and converting employees into general care coordinators, according to an internal email obtained by The Advocate.

The July 22 message shows the VA carrying out a broader directive issued last month to eliminate programs and positions focused on gender identity. It also contradicts assurances that employees said they received after the initial order that little would change beyond their job titles.

Mark A. Koeniger, the Veterans Health Administration’s acting assistant under secretary for Health for Patient Care Services, informed LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators and regional LGBTQ+ leaders that the program’s specialized structure would begin winding down within a week.

“In alignment with this directive, LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator (VCC) roles will transition to Care Coordinator positions, with an expanded focus on supporting all Veterans,” Koeniger wrote.

The email cites a June 12 memorandum titled “Re-iterating Executive Order Compliance Responsibilities.” That memo, first reported by The Advocate, ordered the elimination of gender identity-based initiatives and the removal of the LGBTQ+ designation from the coordinator program.

The new communication details what that transition means in practice.

“The following changes will take place over the next week,” Koeniger wrote. Monthly coordinator calls, regional leadership calls, new coordinator orientations, and the program’s community of practice will be discontinued. “National communications, processes, and procedures specific to the LGBTQ+ VCC program will be discontinued,” the email says. Dedicated Microsoft Teams channels and LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator SharePoint materials will also be archived. Employees were instructed, “Please save any resources that you would like to keep from the LGBTQ+ SharePoint,” including appointment memos and orientation materials.

The changes have left coordinators across the country feeling “shock, anger, and betrayal,” according to a VA health care provider involved with the program. The provider requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and feared retaliation.

The provider said VA leaders had repeatedly characterized the June directive as little more than a name change, assuring staff that their duties and the services offered to veterans would continue.

“Since the June 12 memo, leadership’s messaging has been that nothing is changing — no changes to our job scope or functions, just a title change, with Directive 1340 still in effect,” the provider told The Advocate. “I and others communicated this to our veterans, and now we have to go back and tell them that’s not true.”

The provider said the reversal had placed employees in the position of having reassured patients based on information they now believe was misleading.

“It’s moral injury on top of moral injury, and it feels awful,” they said.

For more than a decade, LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators have served as designated points of contact for veterans navigating the VA health system. Their work has included connecting patients with knowledgeable providers, helping resolve problems with care, offering staff education, and ensuring facilities understood policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer veterans.

The Wednesday email does not say LGBTQ+ veterans will be denied care. But the provider said dismantling the national network effectively eliminates the specialized infrastructure that supported LGBTQ+ veterans and the employees who served them. “This is a cruel erasure of LGBTQ services,” the provider said. “It was carried out in a way that lets the VA avoid explicitly saying they don’t provide LGBTQ veteran care — but that’s the reality of it.”

The provider noted that other specialized coordinator programs remain intact, including Women Veteran Program Managers, Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program coordinators and Caregiver Support coordinators. “No other specialty population coordinator or program has been singled out or dismantled this way,” the provider said.

The provider alleged the LGBTQ+ program was targeted because of the population it serves. “The LGBTQ program was targeted specifically because leadership doesn’t like it,” the provider said. “This is the VA’s version of Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law — it’s blatant homophobia and an attack on LGBTQ veterans.”

Koeniger’s email struck a markedly different tone, thanking coordinators for their work without directly addressing what the changes would mean for LGBTQ+ veterans. “I want to express my sincere appreciation for your dedication, expertise, and service to improving the health of the Nation’s Veterans,” he wrote. “Your contributions have strengthened the care we provide to Veterans nationwide, and your impact has been significant and deeply valued.”

The dismantling follows the Trump administration’s broader effort to eliminate LGBTQ+-specific programs and initiatives across the federal government.

The Advocate contacted Pete Kasperowicz, the VA’s assistant secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, for comment after regular business hours Wednesday. He did not immediately respond.