Trump Vowed to House 6,000 Homeless Vets, Budget Funds Zero
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May 2025 promising to create a “National Center for Warrior Independence” on the West Los Angeles VA campus that would house up to 6,000 homeless veterans by January 2028. But one year later, the administration’s FY2027 budget proposal allocated zero dollars for new housing construction on the campus, drawing sharp bipartisan criticism from lawmakers and veterans’ advocates who question the administration’s commitment and transparency.
The Promise
On May 10, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order “Keeping Promises to Veterans and Establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence,” directing VA Secretary Doug Collins to develop a plan within 120 days to house up to 6,000 homeless veterans at the West Los Angeles VA campus by Jan. 1, 2028, according to NPR. The order called for transforming the 388-acre campus — bequeathed to veterans in 1888 and located in one of California’s most expensive ZIP codes — into a national destination for homeless veterans seeking housing, treatment, and training.
The Budget Gap
Despite the high-profile pledge, the Trump administration’s FY2027 budget proposal, released in April 2026, included zero funding for new housing beds on the West LA campus. The discrepancy was first reported by NPR and has become a flashpoint in the debate over the administration’s priorities.
When the proposed budget emerged, the VA had already been fighting a federal court order from Judge David O. Carter — a Vietnam veteran — requiring a similar housing expansion. The Trump administration appealed a 2024 court ruling in February 2026, even as it declared its own intention to build, creating a contradiction that baffled veterans groups.
Bipartisan Backlash
A contentious House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on May 13, 2026, laid bare the frustration. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized the VA for lack of transparency and slow progress.
Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), the committee chairman, accused the VA of acting as though it were “above congressional oversight,” noting that the committee received the plan for the National Center for Warrior Independence just the night before the hearing — some eight months after it was due. “Transparency should be a priority, not an option,” Bost said.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) was even more blunt. “There’s no way in hell you’re gonna come here and say $500 million is a down payment, and you can’t tell me what the actual cost is,” he said at the hearing. “We’re not doing this any longer. This is corruption, and it’s gonna stop now.”
Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) warned that concentrating veterans without adequate supportive services could turn the campus into a “vast West Side skid row,” as reported by Military Times.
The VA’s Defense
VA officials point to progress on the ground. Danielle Runyan, senior counselor to the VA secretary, testified that housing capacity on the campus grew from 955 to 1,377 beds during the first year of the Trump administration — though none of that increase stemmed from the executive order.
VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven said in a statement that the department is “hard at work implementing President Trump’s executive order,” including reclaiming sections of the campus that had been leased to private companies. On May 21, the VA issued a request for proposals for approximately 220 temporary housing units, worth up to $30 million, with the VA Press Room projecting capacity will reach 1,670 by end of 2026 and 2,048 by 2027.
But the 220 temporary units fall far short of the 6,000-veteran pledge, and the VA’s own projected numbers leave a gap of nearly 4,000 beds by the 2028 deadline.
Unanswered Questions
There has never been a public explanation for the 6,000 figure, which is more than double the number of homeless veterans in all of Los Angeles — approximately 2,991, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Some observers have speculated that the administration planned to bus in homeless veterans from around the country.
The administration has required VA officials and local advocates to sign nondisclosure agreements, leaving even Congress in the dark about project details. Anthony Allman of Vets Advocacy, who has monitored the West LA campus for 11 years, called the project a potential “boondoggle,” noting that large amounts of money have been dedicated to the campus over various administrations “and we can’t really account for where that money goes.”
What’s Next
With the RFP deadline set for June 23, 2026, and a contract award expected by August, the VA is moving forward on a much smaller scale than originally promised. The central question remains whether the administration will align its budget with its rhetoric — or whether the pledge to house 6,000 veterans will remain an unfulfilled campaign promise.
As the White House executive order itself noted, the campus once housed about 6,000 veterans in its heyday. Whether it will do so again by the January 2028 deadline — and whether the funding will materialize to make it happen — remains an open question that veterans and their advocates are watching closely.