USA TODAY International Edition
Vet groups ask Trump to keep Shulkin as VA head
Flap over European trip clouds secretary’s role
WASHINGTON – Three veterans organizations urged President Trump to keep Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin in place despite his misuse of taxpayer dollars during a European trip last year.
The American Legion ticked off a list of his accomplishments at the department, including modernization of the appeals process for VA benefits, improved patient satisfaction, decreased wait times and increased access to mental health care.
“We have been encouraged by the great progress Secretary Shulkin has made and believe that he remains the best person to lead this important federal public institution on the behalf of the American people,” the group’s national commander, Denise Rohan, said in a statement Monday.
One of the oldest organizations representing veterans, AmVets, praised the secretary.
“Please allow VA Secretary Shulkin the space necessary to do his job and continue your focus on fixing the VA,” Joe Chenelly, executive director of AmVets, said in a statement directed at the president.
Vietnam Veterans of America echoed those thoughts and expressed support for VA Deputy Secretary Tom Bowman, who has been on the job since August.
“Keep both David Shulkin and Tom Bowman, and see where we are in a year,” said Rick Weidman, co-founder of the organization. “It hasn’t been long enough.”
Veterans groups had been largely silent since the VA inspector general released a report last Wednesday concluding Shulkin improperly accepted tickets to Wimbledon and airfare for his wife during a 10-day trip to Denmark and London last July.
Shulkin said the findings were unfair and inaccurate, then expressed regret for the errors he and his staff made and reimbursed the government.
Days of turmoil followed. Friday, his chief of staff, Vivieca Wright Simpson, announced she was retiring after 32 years at the agency. Investigators de-
termined she misled ethics officials by doctoring an email to get clearance for Shulkin’s wife to travel with him at taxpayers’ expense.
Within hours, the White House installed a new chief of staff, Peter O’Rourke, who was a member of Trump’s transition team and created the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection at the VA.
The fate of Shulkin remained unclear over the weekend. Friday, he told USA TODAY he remained committed to staying on and fulfilling Trump’s agenda.
Other veterans groups took a waitand-see approach. Garry Augustine, executive director of Disabled American Veterans, said he is generally supportive of Shulkin but is waiting to learn more about what transpired at the agency.
“Please allow VA Secretary Shulkin the space necessary to do his job and continue your focus on fixing the VA.” Joe Chenelly Executive director of AmVets
“We’re still learning about all the particulars of the story. It’s still unfolding,” he said in an interview late Sunday. “What we know so far is that the secretary used some bad judgment, obviously, but, you know, in the big picture, what he’s done for the VA, we believe, is moving in the right direction … and we would like to see this resolved so that he can get back to moving the VA in a direction we think is the right direction.”
Shulkin, the only holdover from the Obama administration in Trump’s Cabinet, said last week that he believed he was targeted and undermined by a group of VA staffers installed in the top ranks of the agency by the White House.
Chenelly, the AmVets director, said the future of the agency is at stake.
“Now, the question, after over a full year of progress and tremendous strides in accountability, opening access to care, improving access to benefits, tackling mental health, and strengthening relations with stakeholders, is whether the President is ready to turn the keys to the VA over to ideologues who have designs on having VA go the way of railroads, airports, energy companies, postal services, and other businesses that have been privatized — and have also proven profitable for a few,” he said in the statement.
“VA Secretary Shulkin is learning a tough lesson in politics: If you want to make enemies, try to change something. But he will not be the only one who pays if the President allows the VA to be treated, once again, like a political football that keeps getting punted each time a new VA Secretary is deposed,” Chenelly said.
The VA has had three secretaries in the past four years.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment late Sunday. Trump remained at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, over the weekend. He was slated to return to Washington on Monday evening.