Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian expose how the Trump administration attempted to halt 15,000 pending veterans’ benefit appeals during the government shutdown—a move three federal judges rejected as “extreme overreach” and a due process violation. The hosts reveal how VA Secretary Doug Collins sought to pause the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims despite 97% of VA employees still working without pay, while claiming the shutdown was “holding my veterans hostage” and blaming Democrats even as Trump tightened eligibility for traumatic brain injuries and PTSD claims upon taking office. Veterans for Common Sense warned that veterans who already waited decades to file claims for Agent Orange and burn pit exposure “could have faced indefinite delays,” calling Trump’s move “unconscionable.”