Trump VA takes machete to huge disability claim backlog that piled up under Biden

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is making record-breaking progress in processing a backlog of veteran disability claims that mounted under former President Joe Biden, the agency told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The VA brought unresolved claims down from 264,717 to 198,378 — or by approximately 25% — since President Donald Trump returned to office, the VA told the DCNF. Trump’s VA has also hit the highest daily and monthly processing rates in the agency’s history while reversing a 24% increase in the backlog that occurred under Biden, the VA said in a statement.

“Under President Trump, VA’s claims processing productivity is the highest it has ever been, and we will continue working overtime on behalf of Veterans until the backlog is at record lows,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said. “Veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve timely and accurate claims decisions, and that is exactly what we will deliver.”

The last time the VA’s backlogged claims were under 200,000 was in March 2023, the department told the DCNF. A disability claim must be left unresolved for more than 125 days to be considered backlogged.

The VA set a monthly new record in April by processing 256,178 claims and set a daily record with more than 15,000 on Tuesday, the agency told the DCNF.

The VA has faced complaints of delayed or low-quality health care for wounded former soldiers across multiple presidencies. The VA’s backlog grew to around 378,000 under Biden as it prioritized partisan agendas such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Before Biden’s term, the first Trump administration brought the number to its lowest ever at 64,738, the VA said.

The largest-ever claims backlog occurred in 2013 under former President Barack Obama after several years of U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the VA.

VA Secretary Doug Collins passed Senate confirmation with a bipartisan vote in February after declaring that the VA “needs reform.” Collins’ agency has worked to remove what the Trump administration considers waste and inefficiency, planning to cut 80,000 job roles, ending taxpayer-funded “gender-affirming prosthetics” for veterans and halting millions of dollars in DEI spending.

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