President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on Twitter that he intends to replace Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, bringing a long-expected end to the embattled secretary’s administration post.
….In the interim, Hon. Robert Wilkie of DOD will serve as Acting Secretary. I am thankful for Dr. David Shulkin’s service to our country and to our GREAT VETERANS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2018
The timing of the tweet was unexpected but its contents weren’t: Shulkin has been serving on borrowed time for more than a month. In February, a departmental report excoriated Shulkin for “serious derelictions” related to a 10-day, $122,000 trip business trip he and his wife took to Europe that included extensive sightseeing, and uncovered that Shulkin’s chief of staff had even altered an email to justify the expenses.
Although Shulkin said he would repay part of the sum, the embarrassment to the administration made it a question of not if, but when the secretary would get the ax. In recent days, White House representatives have hardly bothered to pretend otherwise; asked on Monday whether the country’s veterans were best served by Shulkin’s leadership at Veterans’ Affairs, deputy press secretary merely responded that “I have no personnel announcements to make at this time.”
Shulkin’s designated replacement, Ronny Jackson, is a Navy physician who currently serves as President Trump’s personal White House doctor. Jackson briefly made headlines in January after he briefed reporters on the results of the president’s medical inspection, saying that “all clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency.”
