Trump fires VA Secretary Shulkin
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday and nominated White House doctor Ronny Jackson to replace him in the wake of a bruising ethics scandal and a mounting rebellion within the agency.
A Navy rear admiral, Jackson is a surprise choice to succeed Shulkin, a former Obama administration official and the first nonveteran ever to head the VA. Trump had been considering replacements for Shulkin for weeks, but had not been known to be considering Jackson for the role.
In a statement, Trump praised Jackson as “highly trained and qualified.” It was a decision that signaled Trump wanted to go with someone he knows and trusts, rather than the candidate with the longest resume, to run a massive agency facing huge bureaucratic challenges.
Jackson has served since 2013 as the physician to the president, one of the people in closest proximity to Trump day in and day out.
His profile rose after he conducted a sweeping press conference about the president’s medical exam in January in which he impressed Trump with his camera-ready demeanor and deft navigation of reporters’ questions as he delivered a rosy depiction of the president’s health, according to a person familiar with the president’s thinking but not authorized to discuss private conversations.
The promotion of Jackson marks the latest Trump hire to be driven at least as much by personal familiarity with the president as by his vision for the role.
Brig. Gen. Dr. Richard Tubb, who trained Jackson, said in a letter read at Jackson’s briefing that the doctor had been attached like “Velcro” to Trump since Inauguration Day.
A White House official said Shulkin was informed of his dismissal by Chief of Staff John Kelly before the president announced the move on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
Trump had considered several others for the post, including conservative Fox & Friends contributor Pete Hegseth. The White House was hopeful Jackson will have a smoother confirmation process because he was chosen for his current position during former President Barack Obama’s administration.
But a major veterans’ organization expressed concern over Shulkin’s dismissal and Trump’s intention to nominate Jackson.
“The administration needs to be ready to prove that he’s qualified to run such a massive agency, a $200 billion bureaucracy,” said Joe Chenelly, the national executive director of AMVETS.
Rep. Phil Roe, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he believed Shulkin did a “fantastic job” and didn’t think he should have been dismissed, but “at the end of the day, cabinet secretaries serve at the pleasure of the president.”
Shulkin is the second Cabinet secretary to depart over controversies involving expensive travel, following former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s resignation in September. Trump said in a statement he is “grateful” for Shulkin’s service.
Shulkin had continued to insist he had the full confidence of the White House amid continuing investigations into his travel and leadership of the department.
The VA is government’s second-largest department, responsible for 9 million military veterans in more than 1,700 government-run health facilities. The selection of Wilkie bypasses VA Deputy Secretary Tom Bowman, who has come under criticism for being too moderate to push Trump’s agenda of fixing veterans’ care.
Currently, more than 30 percent of VA appointments are made in the private sector.