A small crowd of veterans and activists gathered outside the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in the nation’s capital Friday to lodge complaints against the agency’s elimination of transgender-related medical care and other new Trump administration policies.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins accepted a request by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the committee chairman, to discuss how the VA will conduct a potential workforce reduction of up to 83,000 personnel in the summer.

Chronic medical staffing shortages at the Department of Veterans Affairs make it difficult for the most ill patients with mental health conditions to see psychiatrists in a timely manner, according to Shankar Yalamanchili, a former VA psychiatrist now in private practice.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans advocates urged lawmakers Tuesday to prioritize and improve transition assistance programs that prepare exiting service members for their lives and careers post-military.

Senate Democrats disclosed plans Monday to hold unofficial “shadow” hearings starting in April to examine the mass firings at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the impact on veterans’ services and benefits.

Lawmakers are pushing again to overturn a federal law that stops combat-injured veterans with less than 20 years of service from collecting their full retirement pay when they qualify for disability compensation.

Most of the fired workers, including thousands from the Department of Veterans Affairs, are being reinstated and then placed on paid administrative leave as President Donald Trump’s administration appeals dual court rulings in Maryland and California.

Veterans seeking transgender-related medical treatments “will have to do so on their own dime,” Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said Monday, as he announced an end to health coverage for gender dysphoria.

Veterans waved American flags and speakers rallied support for the 30,000 federal workers fired by the Trump administration. Some speakers represented self-described progressive groups, but many veterans who attended said their participation had nothing to do with political affiliation.

Judge William Alsup found the Office of Personnel Management lacked the authority to direct six federal agencies, including the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, to fire their new employees. He ordered that any future terminations must be conducted by the agencies themselves.