VA chief says he’s learned from mistakes

WASHINGTON – Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said the past two weeks have been a “difficult time” as he grappled with the findings of a VA inspector general’s investigation that concluded he improperly accepted airfare for his wife and Wimbledon tickets during a European trip last year. Shulkin said he learned from the experience and is eager to refocus on fixing the VA.

“I think as I look back upon it, there are lots of lessons that I could learn from this,” Shulkin said in an interview with USA TODAY. “And putting the agency in a position where we’ve had this distraction is something that I take accountability for. And I want to learn from that and move forward, so we can get back on the agenda that we all have to do, and that is to fix VA health care and fix VA services.”

The inspector general’s report released Feb. 14 concluded Shulkin spent nearly half of the 10-day trip to Denmark and London sightseeing, and he wrongly used a VA aide on official time to plan the leisure activities. The report said the tennis tickets came from a British businesswoman he had met only at official events; therefore, he shouldn’t have accepted them. The report said his thenchief of staff doctored an email to ethics officials to secure approval improperly for his wife to join him on the trip at taxpayer expense.

Before the report’s release, Shulkin called the findings inaccurate and unfair, but afterward, he expressed regret and said he would repay the cost of the airfare and tennis tickets. He suggested after the report’s release that his chief of staff ’s email may have been hacked. That chief of staff, Vivieca Wright Simpson, retired amid the fallout Feb. 16. Shulkin said Monday that a subsequent review found the VA computer system was not breached and that Simpson’s email was not hacked.

Shulkin, a physician who ran hospitals in New Jersey and New York, said he appreciates and respects the inspector general, an independent watchdog within the VA tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, and he is complying with the report’s recommendations. Those include having his deputy secretary, Thomas Bowman, ensure a thorough audit of the European trip, including expense vouchers and time and attendance records for all the travelers. Shulkin and his wife were joined on the trip by a top health deputy and her husband, Wright Simpson, another VA aide and a six-person security detail. Four Democratic senators echoed the need for an audit in a letter to Shulkin last week and asked that the results be provided to Congress.

“I actually look forward to sharing all (the) information and hearing from them about what their thoughts are,” he said. “I’m open and transparent about everything that happened, and I’ve never tried to misuse funds, I’ve never tried to hide anything.”

Shulkin, who was undersecretary for health at the VA before becoming secretary under President Trump last February, said he believes he still has the confidence of the president to stay on in his Cabinet post.

“He wants to continue the work that we’ve done that’s so important. The president is passionate about making a difference for veterans. This is both important to him, a priority, and I believe personal, and therefore he wants to see us succeed,” he said.

“And he knows that I’m taking us in the direction that he wants us to go, and I’ll continue to do that as long as I have his confidence,” Shulkin said.

“Putting the agency in a position where we’ve had this distraction is something that I take accountability for. And I want to learn from that and move forward.” David Shulkin Veterans Affairs secretary