Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said Tuesday that the disability claims backlog at the VA has been "drastically lowered" under President Donald Trump, calling the progress the result of aggressive reforms and a renewed focus on veterans.
Appearing in studio on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," Collins said the VA has cut the backlog from more than 264,000 cases to fewer than 100,000 in just one year.
Collins added that the numbers have improved even further.
"Just the other day I got a text from our VBA director ... saying that it's at 98,000," he said. "So, we're actually coming out. We're heading towards 60[000]."
The VA secretary said average processing times have dropped sharply, from about 135 days to about 80 days.
"We've taken the overall number of cases from well over a million when I got there and broke that down to under 600,000," Collins said. "We could actually get to the position where disability claims are taken, adjudicated, and given an answer to the veteran within 35 days."
Collins credited Trump's leadership and commitment to veterans with driving the reforms.
"President Trump's made it very clear he wants to take care of veterans," Collins said. "I'm just not a 'get to it' kind of guy, because President Trump's not. And he said, 'Fix it.'"
He emphasized that the VA's sweeping reorganization is not about cuts but about service.
"This reorganization is not about cutting jobs. It's not about taking out positions," Collins said. "It's about actually taking a system that for 30 years everybody just said, 'We'll get to it,' and fixing what's broken."
Collins said the changes ensure that "veterans are first at the VA."
"One year ago today, the VA started changing," he said. "It changed because I said veterans are first at the VA, not the other way around. And I think that made all the difference."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX :
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.