Department of Veterans Affairs chief of staff Vivieca Wright Simpson retired from the department on Friday after an internal report found she lied about the nature of VA Secretary David Shulkin’s trip to Europe last year in order to let his wife travel with him on the taxpayers’ dime.
A statement from the VA said she “elected to retire” after the report, but also said the department was opening a “formal investigation” into her actions.
“President Trump has made clear that he expects VA leaders to hold themselves and other employees accountable when they fail to live up to the high standards taxpayers and Veterans deserve,” the VA said. “VA will announce a new chief of staff shortly.”
As she was planning Shulkin’s trip to Europe last year, Wright Simpson was told Shulkin would need to receive an award of some kind in order to justify having the VA pay for his wife’s travel.
Shulkin was not going to receive an award, but Wright Simpson altered an email to say he would be attending a “special recognition” dinner to justify paying for Shulkin’s wife to attend.
In the wake of the report, one Republican lawmaker, Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado, said Shulkin should resign over the $120,000 trip that was mostly sightseeing. But Shulkin told USA Today that he intends to stay in his post.
Wright Simpson was also a VA staffer in 2014, when she was accused of trying to hide the VA waitlist scandal from members of Congress.
