Trump fires veteran affairs secy

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump fired his veteran affairs secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday, replacing him with his personal White House physician Adm Ronny L Johnson, a serving officer.

This was Trump’s second cabinet firing in March after secretary of state Rex Tillerson, and fourth of major administration figures this month – the other two were chief economic adviser Gary Cohn and national security adviser HR Mcmaster. All four exits were announced almost a week apart.

“I am pleased to announce that I intend to nominate highly respected Admiral Ronny L Jackson, MD, as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs,” Trump tweeted. “I am thankful for Dr. David Shulkin’s service to our country and to our GREAT VETERANS!”

The department of veteran affairs provides healthcare and other benefits to an estimated 9 million retired US military personnel and their dependents.

It is the second largest bureaucracy in the federal gov- ernment with 360,000 employees.

Veterans are a key constituency for Trump who, as a candidate, had wooed them saying he would accord the highest priority to their welfare and fix the problems afflicting the department.

Jackson is an active-duty military officer who joined the navy after finishing medical school. He served in Iraq and joined the White House in 2006 in the George W Bush administration. He became a personal physician to Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama and continued in that role with Trump.