Fall In Line Or Get Out: Shulkin Taking Steps To Rout Rebellious Political Foes In VA Department
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, following a scandal over travel expenses, says he has the support of President Donald Trump and intends to keep his position. Shulkin is also taking steps to purge the department of those who he thinks are trying to undermine him.
The Associated Press:
Shulkin Intends To Stay In VA Post With White House Support
Campaigning to keep his job, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Tuesday he had no intention of quitting despite blistering findings of travel abuses connected to his 11-day trip to Europe. He issued an extraordinary warning to VA staff rebelling against him: Get back in line or get out. Speaking after a Tuesday meeting at the White House, Shulkin told The Associated Press that White House chief of staff John Kelly affirmed he still had the trust of President Donald Trump. (Yen, 2/20)
Politico:
Shulkin Says He Has White House Backing To Purge VA
Shulkin’s new chief of staff, Peter O’Rourke, is meeting with each staffer suspected of defying Shulkin “individually and as a group to determine, now that there is a clear direction where we are going, where people are going to stand," he said. "Those who crossed the line in the past are going to have to be accountable for those decisions." Shulkin and the White House on Friday named O’Rourke, who previously led an accountability office at VA, to replace Vivieca Wright Simpson after she retired last week. An IG report accused her of falsifying an email to get the VA to pay for Shulkin’s wife to accompany him on a trip to England and Denmark over the summer. (Allen, 2/20)
