Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wilkie Inherits A VA Embroiled In Scandal, Political Infighting And Personnel Upheavals
The New York Times: New V.A. Secretary Faces A Department In Turmoil
The Department of Veterans Affairs has experienced five months of tumult. Its previous secretary got into a political brawl with his staff and was fired by Twitter message. His first proposed replacement was scuttled by allegations of drunkenness. Then the acting secretary who took charge was accused of making false statements to Congress. In the department’s headquarters a block from the White House, political appointees who worked in the Trump campaign forced career officials out of key positions; inexperienced newcomers published an erroneous report about thousands of military suicides that never happened; and the department’s top technology official fended off calls from Congress to resign over his ties to Cambridge Analytica, the voter-profiling company. (Philipps, 7/30)
The Associated Press: Robert Wilkie Sworn In As Trump’s Veterans Affairs Secretary
President Donald Trump said Monday during an Oval Office ceremony that Wilkie will work day and night “to protect those who protect us.” He also told Wilkie that hundreds of thousands of people are counting on him. The former Pentagon official was selected to replace Secretary David Shulkin, who was fired amid ethics charges and internal rebellion at the department over the role of private care for veterans. Wilkie was confirmed by an 86-9 vote in the Senate last week. He secured the backing of many Democrats after insisting he would not privatize the government’s second-largest department. (Ebbs, 7/30)
USA Today: President Trump Swears In VA Secretary Robert Wilkie
"I want to congratulate you and congratulate you strongly,” Trump told Robert Wilkie, previously an undersecretary at the Pentagon, who was joined by family members in the Oval Office ceremony. "Since day one, my administration has been focused on serving the men and women who make freedom possible – our great veterans," the president said. "These American heroes deserve only the best and they will have it under Robert Wilkie – I have no doubt about it." (Slack, 7/30)
The Wall Street Journal: Wilkie Sworn In As VA Head
A longtime Washington insider, Mr. Wilkie has worked for decades at the Pentagon and in the defense contracting industry. He brings to the VA the expectation he can manage the complex bureaucracy of the second-largest department in the federal government, after the Department of Defense. He is President Trump’s second permanent VA secretary, taking over after the departure of David Shulkin, who was fired by the president earlier this year. While Mr. Wilkie awaited confirmation, the department was helmed by Peter O’Rourke, whose new role has yet to be defined by the department. A VA spokesman declined to comment further and said the VA had no announcements to make regarding personnel changes. (Kesling, 7/30)
