Douglas Jackson, a service-disabled veteran who was laid off during Friday’s federal government layoffs, couldn’t believe it when he heard the vice president say the Trump administration was being forced to choose between Americans and “federal bureaucrats.”

“I’m an Orlando veteran. I’m not a DC bureaucrat,” he told CNN, just days after the White House sent reduction in force — or RIF — notices to more than 3,500 federal workers. “Either they don’t know who they’re firing, or they just don’t care.”

Jackson, who served in the Marines for four years during which he was exposed to burn pits in Iraq, described a feeling of disgust and betrayal when he heard President Donald Trump say most of those laid off “happen to be Democrat-oriented.”

“There’s no way he could know our party affiliation,” Jackson said, noting he’s not registered with either party and has voted for Democrats and Republicans alike.

The 40-year-old had been reinstated earlier this year to his public affairs job in the IRS’ Large Business and International Division after being cut as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s downsizing. But the latest layoff has left him feeling as if the administration has reneged on its pledge to protect veterans, treating him and others as pawns in the political fight over how best to fund the government.

The Trump administration pulled the trigger on layoffs across seven federal agencies on Friday, dismissing employees who handle a wide range of topics — from IRS matters like those Jackson works on to housing grants, special