In case you missed it, NPR published a devastating investigation revealing that the Trump administration’s deliberate decision to kill a VA mortgage rescue program has triggered the worst wave of veteran foreclosures in a decade.
The Trump administration was warned that shutting down the program without figuring out a replacement first would create a foreclosure crisis for veterans and their families. The administration forged ahead anyway, and thousands of veterans lost their homes, with even more heading toward foreclosure.
Learn more about NPR’s investigation:
- More than 10,000 veterans lost their homes to foreclosure since May of last year, when the Trump administration shut down a key safety net in the VA home loan program, according to the latest industry data. That is the highest pace of foreclosures for VA loans in a decade.
- Another 90,000 vets are heading toward foreclosure. This comes after a years-long debacle inside the Department of Veterans Affairs has whiplashed thousands of vets between various enacted and canceled programs and left many of them on the brink of losing their homes — often through no fault of their own.
- A loan backed by the VA is considered one of the most valuable benefits for military service members and has helped millions achieve homeownership. But for nearly a year now, vets have had worse protections and options than most other homeowners if they fall behind.
- The Trump administration was warned this would happen.
- Republicans in Congress, citing costs, wanted to kill that fix and replace it with something else. But last spring, the mortgage industry warned that shutting down the program without first replacing it would be a disaster.
- Less than two months later, the Trump administration shut down the rescue program anyway.
- Since then, more than 10,000 veterans have lost their homes through foreclosure sales, according to ICE Mortgage Technology, which tracks such data.
- It’s unclear how many of those veterans could have avoided foreclosure through the rescue plan, called VASP, or the VA Servicing Purchase program. But mortgage industry insiders told NPR it’s clear that some of those vets had enough disability pay or other income and would have been able to keep their homes had VA not shut down VASP with virtually no warning.
- VA officials did not respond to NPR’s questions about why the agency shut down VASP without first replacing it with anything else.
- Meanwhile, 90,000 more veterans are currently behind on their mortgages or in the foreclosure process. The VA now says it’s coming out with a new program that could help many of those vets, but it still won’t be up and running for months.
- Housing and industry groups warn that the new program, when it is finally operational, could still leave those vets with worse options than other homeowners, and push their monthly payments up by hundreds of dollars a month.
Published: Apr 6, 2026 | Last Modified: Apr 7, 2026