Donald Trump vows to ‘pick up Hotline’ on VA reform

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CNN reports, the incoming president is “not inclined” to keep the department’s current secretary Bob McDonald in his administration. Instead, Trump is considering several potential successors who would align more with the sweeping VA overhaul Trump championed on the campaign trail as he railed against what he called the “most corrupt” and “most incompetently run agency in the United States.”

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald speaks at a news conference at the Veterans Affairs Department in Washington, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. McDonald discussed his visits with VA facilities across the country and outline his priorities. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald speaks at a news conference at the Veterans Affairs Department in Washington, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. McDonald discussed his visits with VA facilities across the country and outline his priorities. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A group of 20 veterans groups wrote urging Trump to retain McDonald, a former corporate CEO and Republican donor who was tapped for the VA post in 2014 after health care scandals at the department erupted and has been largely successful at implementing incremental reforms  “overseeing the largest transformation in the department’s history” and whose reforms are showing “early signs of success.”

It is unclear when Trump will nominate a candidate to lead the VA

But Jason Miller, communications director for the transition team, insisted that the delay is a result of an extra attention on the position, not disinterest.“This is an area that he cares deeply about, reforming VA and making sure the person who comes in has the appropriate skill set to address the many challenges,” said transition team spokesman Sean Spicer, communications director for the Republican National Committee. “This is an area near and dear to his heart.”

“This position is so important to make sure that we get right,” he said. “Not only is there an unwieldy bureaucracy to deal with, but we’re talking about the lives of people who have gone and sacrificed everything on behalf of this country.

“Our country has a debt and we need to repay them.”

Trump’s shortlist for the top VA post has from the start included Rep. Jeff Miller, the chairman of the House committee overseeing the VA, who has been one of the department’s harshest critics.

Jeff Miller Retired representative from Florida who was chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee


Sarah Palin Former governor of Alaska and vice-presidential nominee

President-elect Trump is said to be considering

Scott Brown Former senator from Massachusetts Brown, who served in the Army National Guard and worked on veterans issues as a Massachusetts state senator.

Michelle J. Howard The first female four-star admiral in the history of the Navy

The selection of VA secretary is one of Trump’s most anticipated moves, as the new leader will be tasked with reforming a government hospital system in need of “system-wide reworking.”

Pete Hegseth is not a politician and has worked extensively on veterans’ issues. He was CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, a conservative group advocating VA reform, between 2012 and 2015 and was executive director of Vets for Freedom before that. Hegseth, now a Fox News contributor, is a decorated Army veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and served as a guard at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

Several other names have been floated as possible picks.

 

 

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