Two events dedicated to resisting Trump Administration actions are planned on Whidbey this week.

On Saturday, the group Indivisible Whidbey is holding the Hands Off! Whidbey Island Fight Back Rally to protest an “endless barrage of DOGE cuts and closures” that put military veteran benefits at risk. The event is planned from noon to 2 p.m. outside of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island at Highway 20 and West Ault Field Road in Oak Harbor.

The Department of Government Efficiency, headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is tasked with drastically reducing the size of government. The Trump Administration recently announced plans to “aggressively reorganize” the Veterans Administration, including the elimination of 60,000 to 80,000 employees. The VA employs 480,000 people, with about a quarter of the workforce being veterans.

The VA reported that the cuts will affect jobs that manage medical supplies, appointments and transportation for patients. In addition, advocates warned that VA clinical trials and research into war-related injuries are expected to be halted, according to The New York Times, USA Today and other media organizations.

U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, however, said the changes will result in better health care and services for veterans. He recently said the VA is putting veterans first and can do much better, but that it’s “not an employment agency.”

Indivisible Whidbey pointed out in a press release that Island County has the highest number of veterans per capita in the state and they will be impacted.

“They’ve served our country honorably and depend on VA benefits and other vital services, such as Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, the IRS, CDC, FEMA, and the United States Postal Service,” wrote Sonja Brisson, an Indivisible Whidbey member.

Indivisible Whidbey is a “grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy and defeat the Trump agenda.”

Prior to the protest, another liberal group is holding a major event.

On Thursday, Whidbey Climate Action is holding an Island Conversations event in Langley to discuss ways the community can resist changes “in hard-fought social and climate gains,” according to a press release.

The event will “highlight some of the impacts of federal actions on the people and environment in Washington and on Whidbey,” the group reports. A presentation from local organizations will showcase opportunities to plug in.

“Our goal is that each individual feel empowered and connected to a community, a larger, more powerful movement to preserve and restore our climate and our democracy,” Whidbey Climate Action reports.

The event is 5:45-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 3 at St. Hubert’s Community Room at 804 Third Street in Langley.