Lawmakers demand investigation into ‘inflammatory’ images by VFW to protest a benefits bill

Two Republican lawmakers have requested a formal investigation into the conduct of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a congressionally chartered organization, for promoting and disseminating “politically charged” images suggesting “violence” as part of a larger protest over a veterans’ bill pending a vote in Congress.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs that questioned the VFW’s use of “graphic and inflammatory” illustrations on social media and on T-shirts that show uniformed service members standing before a firing squad of civilians, in business suits, aiming rifles at them.

In the July 1 letter, the lawmakers asked for a formal review of the recent conduct of the VFW, which is accredited by the VA, to determine if it complies with outlined standards for representing veterans, their families and survivors with claims for benefits and health care.

The lawmakers accused the VFW of licensing, promoting and selling images that portray government officials, civil servants and others involved in the veterans’ benefits process as “violent adversaries,” according to the letter.

“Congress has entrusted accredited veterans service organizations with a unique responsibility to represent veterans before the Department. That privileged status carries with it an obligation to maintain the confidence of veterans, the department, and the public,” Bost and Bergman wrote in the letter.

Bost is chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Bergman is a committee member. Both are military veterans.

“As a congressionally chartered organization, the VFW has a responsibility to uphold the honorable prestige that has been granted to them by Congress,” Bost said.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., pointed to recent examples of the VFW authorizing the use of its name, trademark, and likeness on merchandise with “inflammatory” imagery related to pending veterans’ legislation. Bost is chairman of the House VA Committee. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., joined Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., to demand that the VA investigate the actions and conduct of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Bergman is shown at a House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee hearing on Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

The two lawmakers specifically asked VA Secretary Doug Collins to determine if the VFW violated accreditation rules and policies when it promoted the illustrations in protest of the Take Care of Veterans Act.

The legislation, led by Bost in the House, would increase disability benefits for the nation’s most seriously injured and sick veterans, while decreasing monthly compensation on claims for veterans with sleep apnea and tinnitus.

The VA has not responded to the lawmakers’ request for a review of VFW’s compliance, according to Bost’s office.

VFW leadership on Monday defended the illustrations as political satire and protected free speech.

In an emailed statement, the VFW stated that it “was never contacted by Chairman Bost or Representative Bergman before they asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to review our accreditation,” according to John Muckelbauer, VFW general counsel.

VA-accredited veterans service organizations are federally recognized nonprofit or government groups authorized to legally represent veterans and their families in the VA benefit claims process.

“The letter identifies no allegation that the VFW or any of our accredited representatives violated VA accreditation standards, acted unethically, or failed a single veteran. Instead, it seeks to question our fitness because we disagree with pending legislation. Disagreement over public policy should be answered through debate, not by questioning an organization’s ability to carry out its congressionally recognized mission,” Muckelbauer wrote.

Meanwhile, Unite for Veterans Coalition — which organizes veterans over benefit cuts and federal workforce reductions — demanded that Bost and Bergman withdraw their request for a review of VFW’s accreditation.

“The letter questions the VFW’s ‘fitness’ to represent claimants before the department, all because the VFW dared to publish a cartoon opposing a bill the chairman supports,” said Arabella Meyer, spokeswoman for the coalition.

Unite for Veterans accused Bost of “weaponizing” VA accreditation against the VFW.

“We support the VFW’s right to speak out and ask members of both parties to clearly state that accreditation exists to serve veterans, and it will never be used as leverage against the organizations that speak for them,” Meyer said.

Robert Couture, VFW’s director of public affairs and strategic outreach, said that the controversial design and messaging on T-shirts and social media are the organization’s response to a major legislative initiative to reduce veteran benefits in one area to cover higher costs in another. (VFW/Grunt Style Foundation)

The images represent the threat that military members face when Congress targets their benefits, said Robert Couture, VFW’s director of public affairs and strategic outreach.

He said that similar editorial cartoons were published in the 1930s, when veterans benefits were at risk of cuts.

Bost and Bergman pointed to two recent examples of the VFW authorizing the use of its name, trademark, and likeness on merchandise with “inflammatory” imagery related to the pending legislation.

The VFW, in June and July, posted artwork showing a firing squad of individuals in business suits labeled “bureaucrats” and “media” taking aim at two service members.

“The VFW maintains that the firing-squad imagery is in line with its historic messaging. However, the chairman believes this appeal to history misses the current moment. This week marks the second anniversary of the attempted assassination of President (Donald) Trump in Butler, Pa. With attacks on elected officials, media, and public servants at an all-time high, the chairman believes the VFW’s argument fails to capture the gravity of our current political climate,” said Kathleen McCarthy, spokeswoman for the House VA Committee.

The VFW also promoted merchandise and materials with a drawing of a veteran stabbed in the back by a large quill pen labeled “Government,” according to the letter.

According to its charter, VFW works to “preserve and strengthen comradeship among its members, assist worthy comrades, and perpetuate the memory and history of our dead, and to assist their surviving spouses and orphans.”

VFW, chartered in 1936, has not changed that mission, Muckelbauer said.

“We will continue speaking plainly whenever legislation threatens the benefits veterans have earned,” he said. “Advocacy is not grounds for punishment. It is the very reason organizations like the VFW exist.”