President Biden’s pick to be secretary of veteran’s affairs, former Obama White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, was confirmed by a Senate vote Monday evening.
The nonveteran, who also lacks healthcare experience, told a Senate committee his experience cutting through red tape and having the ear of the new president would help him lead one of the federal government’s largest agencies. The chamber easily approved his nomination, 87-7.
Whether he convinces 9 million veterans struggling with monthslong delays is yet to be determined, veterans groups tell the Washington Examiner.
McDonough becomes only the second nonveteran to serve at the head of the agency. Many observers had assumed Biden would select a veteran from the post-9/11 conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, where more than 2.7 million U.S. soldiers have served.
Veterans, too, had been calling for a recognition that the nation’s newest veterans suffer different ailments, including higher rates of depression and suicide.
“I’m not telling you that I’m a vet,” McDonough said at his Jan. 27 confirmation hearing. “But I am telling you that I have come to understand the massive sacrifices that they’ve made, and I’ve come to witness the amazing skill with which they’ve done it.”
McDonough will face a range issues from tackling sexual harassment and sexual misconduct to improving mental healthcare, homelessness, and Biden’s priority, COVID-19 vaccines and care for veterans.
