'Massively disrespectful': Hegseth buried by veterans for plans to cut VA benefits

One of the primary targets for Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth is reportedly healthcare benefits for veterans provided by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. "We want to have full choice where veterans can go wherever they want for care," Shulkin recalled Hegseth saying in his memoir. And Shulkin pushed back on Hegseth's calls for privatization, telling him at the time: "Your version of choice would cost billions more per year, bankrupting the system." Amy McGrath — a Democrat and retired Marine pilot who unsuccessfully challenged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2020 — told the network she hadn't seen an outcry for privatization among veterans, and pointed out that the profit motive of the private healthcare industry was different than the VA's motive of simply providing care for all veterans regardless of cost. "If I’ve got a chronic condition – mental, physical, otherwise – the government better be there for me, but otherwise I don’t want to be dependent on that.” Former Rep. Max Rose — an Army Ranger and Purple Heart recipient who served nearly five years in active duty service — called Hegseth's comments about veterans' benefits "massively disrespectful" to those trusted “to go to war, to protect the homeland, defend our rights, and our way of life – and then we think they will come home and be an abusers of health care services?” Click here to read CNN's report in full.