Trump taps his doctor to lead Veterans Affairs
WASHINGTON — U.S. 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 non-veteran ever to head Veterans Affairs. 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 signalled Trump chose to go with someone he knows and trusts, rather than the candidate with the longest resumé 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 demeanour 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.
A major veterans’ organization expressed concern over Shulkin’s dismissal and Trump’s intention to nominate Jackson, whom its members worry lacks the experience needed to run the huge department.
“We are disappointed and already quite concerned about this nominee,” said Joe Chenelly, the national executive director of AMVETS. “The administration needs to be ready to prove that he’s qualified to run such a massive agency, a $200-billion (US) bureaucracy.”
Shulkin is the second Trump administration cabinet secretary to depart over controversies involving expensive travel, following former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s resignation last 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.
He agreed to reimburse the government more than $4,000 after Veteran Affairs’ internal watchdog concluded last month that Shulkin had improperly accepted Wimbledon tennis tickets and that his then-chief of staff had doctored emails to justify his wife travelling to Europe with him at taxpayer expense.
Shulkin also blamed internal drama at the agency on a half-dozen or so rebellious political appointees, insisting he had White House backing to fire them.
But the continuing Veterans Affairs infighting and a fresh raft of watchdog reports documenting leadership failures and spending waste — as well as fresh allegations that Shulkin had used a member of his security detail to run personal errands — proved too much of a distraction.