Last night, POLITICO reported that Trump's Department of Veterans Affairs will end a homeless veterans housing program that has successfully “reduced the number of displaced servicemembers, serving 138,000 since 2010 and cut the number without housing on a given day by almost half.” The majority of veterans that have benefitted from this program are chronically or mentally ill or suffer from substance abuse issues.  In response, former United States Marine and DNC Deputy Press Secretary Brian Gabriel released the following statement:

“The President is once again shirking his duty as commander-in-chief by cruelly shuttering a housing program designed to help the most vulnerable veterans. His dereliction of duty not only runs counter to the constant lip service he pays the veterans community, but it's also a disrespectful slap in the face to the men and women who served and protected our country.

“This might be news to Trump, but his campaign against national anthem protests and his insincere photo ops with troops do not help homeless veterans find housing and employment. That's what sensible policy and programs are for, yet this morally bankrupt administration continues to show it won’t lift a finger to help veterans.

“Our former servicemembers deserve better than Trump's brand of petty politics. Trump should swallow his pride, continue President Obama's successful efforts to eradicate veterans' homelessness, and show some gratitude to the men and women who answered our nation’s call to duty.”