Michael Negrete believes he’s earned the benefits he receives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After all, he spent a decade of his life serving in the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Now, he feels those benefits are under attack from the nation’s commander-in-chief.

Protesting in front of the New Hampshire State House on Friday alongside close to 200 other people, Negrete denounced the Trump administration’s cuts to the VA. The agency, which provides healthcare and other services to veterans like him, is set to reduce its workforce by 80,000 people. VA officials have said other cuts are already producing a negative effect on mental health care, too.

Friday’s rally was at least the fifth time in the past two months that New Hampshire citizens have taken to the streets of Concord to protest President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the administration’s actions.

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Negrete, a Milford resident who is paralyzed from the chest down, said he got his electric wheelchair at no cost from the VA alongside at-home care, both of which allow him to live, for the most part, independently.

“Some people think that going to the VA is just extracurricular things that we can get, like a discount or something,” Negrete said. “VA services are benefits that every veteran has earned through their service.”

Ralph Fatello, a U.S. Marines veteran who lives in Hampton, stood talking with Negrete on the sunny Friday afternoon as they looked out on the other protesters.

“We’re against wasteful spending and fraud,” Fatello said, “but when you tap into the VA, you start … hurting the veterans. You gotta draw the line somewhere.”

As they chatted, rally-goers lined Main Street waving flags, holding signs and chanting, “Support our vets.” Traffic inched through downtown as cars drove by slowly, honking to cheer on the effort.

“For the people that are out here that are driving by, it puts a face to the names of veterans, if they actually see how many veterans are here and how it’s going to affect their local community,” Negrete said. “Hopefully … they’ll think about it next time we’re at the ballot box, and they’ll remember and reflect back on all the veterans that are here.”

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.