Free Republic

David Shulkin, former U.S. secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, whom President Donald Trump fired as Veterans Affairs secretary, offered a parting shot in an op-ed for The New York Times – warning that privatizing the VA Department could hurt veterans. "Privatization leading to the dismantling of the department's extensive health care system is a terrible idea," Shulkin wrote. "The department's understanding of service-related health problems, its groundbreaking research and its special ability to work with military veterans cannot be easily replicated in the private sector." Trump fired Shulkin Wednesday, making the announcement over Twitter. The president picked the White...

I am pleased to announce that I intend to nominate highly respected Admiral Ronny L. Jackson, MD, as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs........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!

This Obama holdover needs to hear the famous words: “You’re fired!” Will the VA scandal never end? While the Department of Veterans Affairs secretary lives high on the hog and his lying chief of staff resigns in disgrace while escaping any punishment, legions of vets every day in this country are denied the medical care they earned. President Trump was supposed to drain the swamp. But at the historically fraud-ridden and profligate VA, the alligators continue feasting on the public dime. This latest witch hunt for dissenters comes in the wake of a scathing inspector general’s report last month on...

Investigators with the Department of Veterans Affairs will release a report accusing VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, of wrongly accepting Wimbledon tickets and paying for his wife's airfare with taxpayer funds during a European trip last summer, USA Today reports. Here are five things to know about the allegations. 1. Dr. Shulkin's lawyers deemed the accusations, scheduled to be released this week, unfair and questionable. "The draft report ignores critical facts, presenting a one-sided version of events that casts aside evidence contradicting your chosen narrative," lawyers Justin Shur, Eric Nitz and Emily Damrau wrote in draft rebuttal obtained by USA...

More than a month ago we talked about the problems that VA Secretary David Shulkin was having in attempting to fire delinquent D.C. medical center Director Brian Hawkins. The soon-to-be ex-employee was in charge of a center where unsanitary conditions were placing the lives of veterans under his care at risk. On top of that, sensitive VA documents had been sent to his private email server (wait… am I the only person on the planet without a private server?) along with various other irregularities. After being placed in an administrative position during an investigation, Shulkin moved to implement new policies...

Department of Veterans Affairs officials have fired more than 500 misbehaving employees since January, according to data posted online Friday. VA Secretary David Shulkin touted his agency's decision to publish its efforts to hold VA employees accountable, unveiling new requirements for updating the public on personnel actions. "Veterans and taxpayers have a right to know what we're doing to hold our employees accountable and make our personnel actions transparent," Shulkin said in a statement. "Posting this information online for all to see, and updating it weekly, will do just that."

A few months back, I wrote an article for Townhall.com about the Veterans Administration. In light of Memorial Day, I thought it would be a great idea to revisit the VA and some of the developments that have transpired since then. At first, I was not a fan of Secretary David Shulkin. One of three Trump appointees that I questioned, I felt he had made it a point to be somewhat of a career politician. I believed what we needed in that position was not an Obama-holdover appointee, but a businessman who specialized in turning around organizations. I have to...

The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs cleared a bill Wednesday that would make it much easier for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin to fire bad employees, moving the legislation one step closer to law. Now that the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 has passed the committee hurdle, it will move to the floor of the Senate for further consideration. It’s not clear exactly when the bill will reach the full chamber, but if the Senate passes the bill, it will be sent to the House for a vote. The purpose of the bill is...

Every Democrat joined every Republican in voting to confirm Dr. David Shulkin as the next man to run the Department of Veterans Affairs in a 100-0 vote. Speaking on the Senate floor shortly before the vote, Sen. Susan Collins (R.-Maine) said she was thrilled by Shulkin’s nomination, and it was one of the few things Republicans and Democrats have agreed on recently. Collins said that she was especially impressed when Shulkin kept a commitment he made to her in a private meeting and visited the only veterans hospital in Maine with her. “I was truly impressed and remain truly impressed...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's Cabinet confirmations (all times EST): 7:53 p.m. The Senate has confirmed physician David Shulkin to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Trump administration. The vote Monday was 100-0. Shulkin is a former Obama administration official who had served as the VA's top health official since 2015. He is the first non-veteran to lead the government's second-largest department....

Physician David Shulkin headed toward likely confirmation as President Donald Trump’s veterans affairs secretary, after offering repeated assurances Wednesday to sometimes skeptical senators that he will work quickly to meet the medical care needs of millions of veterans without dismantling the beleaguered department. At his confirmation hearing, Shulkin, the top health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2015, cited efforts during his tenure to improve wait times for veterans needing urgent care, such as same-day services in primary care and mental health at VA medical centers. He urged a more integrated VA network in which veterans could seek...

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick for VA Secretary, the final missing piece of his cabinet. Trump has picked David Shulkin, the current Under Secretary for Health for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. If Shulkin is confirmed, he will be the first non-veteran to serve as VA Secretary. Shulkin has served as undersecretary since June 2015. He was previously was the chief executive of many hospital systems.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped David Shulkin to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, he announced Wednesday. "I appointed today the head secretary of the Veterans Administration, David Shulkin," Trump said during his news conference at Trump Tower in New York. "We'll do a news release in a little while, I'll tell you about David, he's fantastic. He's fantastic. He will do a truly great job. One of the commitments I've made is that we're going to straighten out the whole situation for our veterans." Shulkin is the VA's current undersecretary for health, a position in which he oversaw more...