Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Is VA Secretary David Shulkin The Next Cabinet Member To Get The Boot?

After the ousting of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speculation over which Trump cabinet member is next to go is now shifting to the embattled Secretary of Veterans Affairs, David Shulkin.

Shulkin has been harshly criticized following an internal investigation into his wife’s taxpayer-covered trip to Europe and possible misuse of his personal security detail.

According to several press reports, Shulkin may be close to receiving a Tillerson-style early-morning tweet from the president, telling him that his services are no longer required. The VA secretary is reportedly now seen by the White House as a negative distraction, and Shulkin reportedly received a dressing-down from White House chief of staff John Kelly.

Trump is reportedly eyeing Energy Secretary Rick Perry as a possible replacement for Shulkin. The Associated Press reported that Trump discussed the idea with Perry, but has not presented him with a formal offer.

Shulkin is the only Obama administration official serving on Trump’s cabinet.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.