Scandal-Plagued VA Secretary Shulkin Quits, Trump’s Doctor Named As Replacement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin will resign soon, President Trump said on Wednesday, adding that he will nominate his personal physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, to succeed him.
White House officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Shulkin had become a distraction due to a constant wave of speculation about his future. They said an undersecretary at the Department of Defense, Robert Wilkie, will be the acting secretary.
Jackson, a rear admiral of the U.S. Navy, has been working as a presidential physician since the George W. Bush administration, and has monitored Trump’s health since Trump became president.
“Admiral Jackson is highly trained and qualified and as a service member himself, he has seen firsthand the tremendous sacrifice our veterans make and has a deep appreciation for the debt our great country owes them,” Trump said.
Trump said he appreciated Shulkin’s work, including passage of the VA Accountability Act.
“He has been a great supporter of veterans across the country and I am grateful for his service,” Trump said in a statement.
Shulkin had been drawing criticism for a damning report from the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It found that during a trip to London and Denmark he improperly accepted tickets to the Wimbledon tennis tournament and his chief of staff made false statements so Shulkin’s wife could travel at government expense.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
