It’s been a crazy couple of months here in DC. I mean, let’s face it, it’s been a crazy year. Between leadership shake-ups at the Department of Veterans Affairs, incredible progress on IAVA’s Big 6 Priorities, and a range of top-button issues coming to light, IAVA’s DC team has been busy!

But this past Memorial Day, IAVA stood with millions of Americans across the nation to #GoSilent at 3 PM EST in honor of all those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

Just before 3 PM EST, I sat down with Katy Tur on MSNBC to discuss the importance of Memorial Day and how we as a nation can best support our military members and families. Check out the full interview here:

It’s crazy to think that just a month before, we were talking about the leadership vacuum at the Department of Veterans Affairs that continues today. It was only a month ago that Dr. Ronny Jackson withdrew his nomination for Secretary of the VA, leaving Robert Wilkie as the Acting VA Secretary. While Mr. Wilkie has recently been nominated to fill the role of VA Secretary permanently, the leadership vacuum at VA continues, with many top posts remaining unfilled. I spoke with MSNBC Live on this topic:

And while veterans very rarely are featured in the national news, we are continuing to beat the drum on the most important issues facing the Post-9/11 generation. Last week, I spoke at AMVETS “Healing American Veterans Symposium” on the challenges facing women veterans and the persistent inequality women veterans face:

🎥 Last week, @mabryant256 joined the #veterans panel of our "Healing American Veterans Symposium" to discuss issues still prominent in the military community, such as inequality and/or lack of female inclusion.#SheWhoBorneTheBattle | #HealAmericanVeterans pic.twitter.com/FWZaTREg4K

— AMVETS (@AMVETSHQ) May 30, 2018

And against a swirling legislative environment on Capitol Hill, I sat down with Eric Dehm, host of Connecting Vets to talk about the newest changes headed VA’s way, burn pits and toxic exposures, and more. Listen in here.

Keep up with the whole IAVA DC Team on our Facebook and Twitter; and find out what I’m doing on Capitol Hill by following me on Twitter at @mabryant256