After long search, Trump’s VA pick was already there

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he had tapped David Shulkin, a physician serving in the Obama administration as VA undersecretary, to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs ends a long search for a head of the secondlargest federal agency.

The decision also would make Shulkin the first VA secretary who had not served in the military.

Trump said he and his transition team had interviewed “at least 100 people” in their search for an executive to carry out multiple promises he has made to improve the care of veterans. In the end, they looked inside.

Shulkin, 57, who would be the first Obama administration holdover for Trump, was confirmed unanimously for his post in June 2015, a sign he could breeze through the Senate confirmation process.

“I have no doubt Dr. Shulkin will be able to lead the turnaround our Department of Veterans Affairs needs,” Trump said during a news conference Wednesday, calling him an “incredibly gifted doctor.”

Shulkin is an internist who came to government with 30 years’ experience leading private hospitals. He has led the veterans health system — the country’s largest, with 1,700 clinics and hospitals — for 18 months, working to improve patients’ access to care after a nationwide scandal over fudged wait lists for medical appointments.

He is in line to run an agency beset by challenges, including a backlog in disability claims that has shifted in recent years from initial applications to appeals; a rising suicide rate; overuse of opiates; and a shortage of doctors and nurses.

“We are both eager to begin reforming the areas in our Veterans Affairs system that need critical attention, and do it in a swift, thoughtful and responsible way,” Shulkin said in a statement released by the transition team.

In keeping Shulkin, Trump passed over the current secretary, Robert McDonald, a Republican appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014.