Kobach joins bipartisan effort to protect veterans’ education benefits

TOPEKA – (March 20, 2025) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach today joined 51 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in support of two military veterans and their families who were unlawfully denied their full G.I. Bill education benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In this case, U.S. Army veteran Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon and U.S. Air Force Colonel Toby Doran were denied crucial education benefits to which they are clearly entitled.

“Our veterans have made great sacrifices, and many have put their lives on the line for our country. The least we can do is honor the promises we made to them when they joined the military,” Kobach said.

The amicus brief argues that the VA has taken a restrictive interpretation of the G.I. Bill that contradicts the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Rudisil v. McDonough, which confirmed that veterans who qualify under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 G.I. Bills are entitled to a full 48 months of education benefits. Despite the clear precedent, the VA has continued to limit benefits based on an erroneous reading of the ruling, depriving veterans and their families of critical educational opportunities.

Attorneys general from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Northern Mariana Islands joined the brief.

Read the brief here.