President Biden’s nominee to handle military veterans’ issues was handled with kid gloves by senators on Wednesday, but advocacy groups are split as to whether a nonveteran without healthcare experience can advance the needs of former service members.

The new commander in chief raised eyebrows when he tapped Denis McDonough, a former White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama, to be his Veterans Affairs secretary. Biden’s argument was McDonough knows Washington as well as anyone, and he has seen his nominee’s passion for the many challenges military veterans face. If Senate Veterans Affairs Committee members have major concerns, they opted against voicing them with McDonough in the hot seat.