By Nick Valencia | March 14, 2026
WASHINGTON D.C.— The Trump administration says it is trying to help some of the country’s most vulnerable veterans.
But a new agreement quietly signed this week between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Justice is raising difficult questions about the limits of government power, and who gets to decide when someone is no longer capable of making decisions for themselves.
According to reporting first published by The New York Times, the administration has expanded federal authority in a way that could allow government attorneys to pursue guardianship over homeless veterans who are unable to make medical or financial decisions and who have no family or legal representation.
The Legal Mechanism Behind the Policy
Under the agreement, DOJ can appoint VA attorneys as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, granting them legal authority to initiate and participate in state court guardianship or conservatorship proceedings. In practical terms, the move allows government lawyers to ask courts to appoint legal guardians for veterans who cannot advocate for themselves.
According to the VA, hundreds of veterans in its care fall into that category. That number includes people suffering from serious medical conditions, cognitive impairment, or mental illness who lack family members to help make decisions about their care.
Many are homeless. Others are at risk of becoming homeless.
Without a legal decision-maker, some veterans become trapped in a bureaucratic limbo.
They may be medically stable, but unable to leave a hospital because no one can legally authorize a discharge plan or placement in long-term care. The administration says guardianship can be the mechanism that breaks that cycle.
“The Department of Justice is proud to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs to support our nation’s brave Veterans by ensuring that they have the best legal resources available when it comes to making medical decisions and receiving timely care,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the agreement. “We owe our Veterans a debt we can never fully repay — but we can give them the support they deserve.”
VA Secretary Doug Collins framed the partnership in similar terms.
“Our new partnership with the Justice Department reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring that every Veteran receives timely, appropriate care, even in complex cases,” Collins said.
The Power and Controversyof Guardianship
Guardianship is one of the most sweeping legal tools the state can wield over an individual. Once granted, it can allow a guardian to make decisions about where someone lives, what medical treatment they receive, and how their finances are managed. In effect, it can transfer core elements of personal autonomy to another decision-maker.
Those powers have made guardianship a controversial legal mechanism, particularly when applied to marginalized populations who may lack legal representation or the ability to challenge court proceedings.
Civil liberties advocates warn the policy could carry profound consequences.
The policy also arrives as the Trump administration pursues a broader effort to address homelessness among veterans.
Federal estimates place the number of homeless veterans nationwide at roughly 33,000 people, with about 14,000 living unsheltered on the streets, according to figures cited by The New York Times. Administration officials have signaled that more veterans should be moved into structured care environments, including mental-health facilities, rehabilitation programs, and other institutional settings. The guardianship authority created through the VA-DOJ agreement could become a legal pathway to make those transitions happen.
Supporters argue the policy reflects a moral obligation: ensuring veterans who sacrificed for the country are not left abandoned in hospital rooms or on sidewalks because no one is legally empowered to act on their behalf.
But critics see a more troubling possibility. They worry the policy could create pressure to institutionalize vulnerable veterans under the banner of care.
When the government steps in to make decisions for someone else, where exactly does care end—and control begin? For homeless veterans already living on society’s margins, the answer may determine not just where they receive help, but how much say they still have in their own lives.
