VoteVets targets Rep. Zach Nunn on Veterans Affairs cuts

Iowa Republican U.S. Congressional candidate Zach Nunn speaks to supporters during a Republican Party of Iowa election night rally, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

By Zachary Oren Smith

March 18, 2025

A veterans voter education group is going after US. Rep. Zach Nunn in a new campaign over the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Progressive veterans group VoteVets is launching an ad campaign calling on Republican US Rep. Zach Nunn to oppose the mounting cuts and layoffs at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Trump administration—through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—has started a VA reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for millions of veterans.

Nunn is among a group of five Republican veteran members VoteVets accused of being complicit as Trump “aimlessly fires veterans across the country.”

“I did not put my life on the line for some tech bro billionaire from South Africa to come in here and try to destroy our country,” states one veteran featured in the ads, which will appear on local news, streaming platforms, and social media throughout Nunn’s district.

Progressive veterans group VoteVets is launching an ad campaign calling on Republican US Rep. Zach Nunn to oppose the mounting cuts and layoffs at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

The campaign comes as internal documents reveal plans to cut approximately 80,000 jobs from the VA, reducing the workforce to 2019 levels despite increased demands for services under the PACT Act. Meanwhile, DOGE has targeted hundreds of VA contracts for termination, many of which employees say are critical to patient safety and care.

The organization is particularly critical of Nunn and other Republican veterans in Congress who they say are “dodging constituents” after the National Republican Congressional Committee advised members to stop holding in-person town halls amid growing public backlash.

Last Friday, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was in Des Moines for an Iowa Democratic Party-hosted town hall. He criticized Nunn for joining with his Republican colleagues in declining to host public town halls in his district.

Mobile billboards will circle Rep. Nunn’s district and make stops at his central district office, encouraging constituents to demand that Congress “stand up against DOGE and Elon Musk” and protect veteran services and employment.

Similar campaigns are targeting Republican veterans in Congress including Don Bacon (NE-02), Jennifer Kiggans (VA-02), John James (MI-10), and Scott Perry (PA-10).

‘Empty chair’ town hall planned for Nunn Tuesday night

The progressive organizing group Indivisible 515 announced it invited US Rep. Zach Nunn to be a guest at a town hall to discuss his work in Congress.

“He has declined our invitation, but we will go ahead and have the event without him,” the group said in a press release.

The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18 at the Urbandale Public Library (3520 86th St. Urbandale, IA 50322).

Zachary Oren Smith

Zachary Oren Smith is your friendly neighborhood reporter. He leads Starting Line’s political coverage where he investigates corruption, housing affordability and the future of work. For nearly a decade, he’s written award-winning stories for Iowa Public Radio, The Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Send your tips on hard news and good food to [email protected].

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CATEGORIES: TRUMP

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