Fired V.A. Secretary Shulkin Slams Privatization Efforts

By Josh Nathan-Kazis March 29, 2018

In media appearances the day after President Trump announced his firing on Twitter, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin decried the efforts of Trump appointees to push privatization at his former department, and described the current atmosphere in Washington as “toxic.”

“In recent months, though, the environment in Washington has turned so toxic, chaotic, disrespectful and subversive that it became impossible for me to accomplish the important work that our veterans need and deserve,” Shulkin wrote in the New York Times.

And on NPR, Shulkin complained that “there are many political appointees in the VA that believe that we are moving in the wrong direction or weren’t moving fast enough toward privatizing the VA.”

Shulkin was at the center of a controversy last year over his use of federal funds to pay for his wife’s flight to Europe last year to accompany him on an official trip. Shulkin told NPR that the White House had kept him from defending himself, alleging they had done so for political ends.

“I was not allowed to put up an official statement or to even respond to this by the White House,” he said in the NPR interview. “I think this was really just being used in a political context to try to make sure that I wasn’t as effective as a leader moving forward.”

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

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