UPDATE: Group protesting outside Sioux Falls VA Hospital

This story has been updated with the VA’s response to the protesters.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A group of protestors gathered near the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Sioux Falls Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the VA’s hospital responded.

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The group gathered at Spellerberg Park and lined the intersection of 26th Street and Western Avenue. 

The group said it is protesting to “honor and support America’s Veterans.” Signs at the protest call for more support for Veterans. 

The group that organized the protest is called “Indivisible 605.” The group says “it is dedicated to promoting South Dakota values from a platform of inclusion and equality. We utilize non-violent and polite pressure to defend liberty against the current administration’s authoritarian, nationalist tendencies.” 

According to News Nation, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 11 directing all agencies to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force,” using a legal term commonly referred to as RIF to denote mass layoffs.

Significant reductions are expected at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon, raising concerns about the impact on vital services.

The VA has issued a response. In a press release, Press Secretary Pete Kasperowicz stated:

“The Biden Administration astronomically grew the department’s budget and number of employees, and VA wait times and backlogs increased. We are doing things differently.But the legacy media, government union bosses, and some in Congress are working together to use rumor, innuendo and disinformation to spread fear in the hopes that the department will just keep in place the status quo. Here are the facts: VA health care has been on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list since 2015. It is still on the list to this day. In other words, VA has had serious problems for at least ten years running. That’s why our efforts to reform the department are so important. VA has laid off 2,400 probationary employees in non-mission-critical positions, such as publicists, interior designers, and diversity, equity and inclusion officers. That’s one half of one percent of VA’s workforce. So the notion that these layoffs are causing issues across the department is false.”