{"id":44798,"date":"2018-04-23T16:31:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T16:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/23\/former-va-secretaries-throw-their-support-behind-trumps-latest-pick-for-the-job\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:34:38","slug":"former-va-secretaries-throw-their-support-behind-trumps-latest-pick-for-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/23\/former-va-secretaries-throw-their-support-behind-trumps-latest-pick-for-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Former VA secretaries throw their support behind Trump\u2019s latest pick for the job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 In advance of a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, three former Veterans Affairs secretaries praised White House physician <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/04\/02\/white-house-doctor-could-face-the-most-contentious-va-confirmation-process-ever\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson<\/a> as \u201ceminently qualified\u201d to take over the challenge as President Donald Trump\u2019s latest pick for the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson\u2019s nomination has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/04\/11\/vets-groups-and-lawmakers-say-theyre-against-it-but-what-does-privatization-of-veterans-affairs-really-mean\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">drawn questions from veterans groups<\/a> and some lawmakers given his lack of experience working with VA, a nearly $200 billion bureaucracy with more than 375,000 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in a letter to Senate leaders, former secretaries Anthony Principi, James Nicholson, and James Peake praised Jackson\u2019s background as an appropriate fit for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/04\/19\/ambitious-va-medical-records-overhaul-in-jeopardy-after-department-shakeup\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\">reforming the embattled agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith Admiral Jackson\u2019s background of achievement and success, we are confident that he will build his own team of effective leaders to support and assist him in moving the VA forward to serve our veterans in the manner they need and deserve,\u201d the group wrote. \u201cFrom the battlefield to the White House, Admiral Jackson is a proven leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/20\/five-key-questions-in-the-upcoming-va-secretary-confirmation-hearing\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"204\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18106749610860.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Five key questions in the upcoming VA secretary confirmation hearing<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">White House physician Ronny Jackson will face a lot of skeptics at his confirmation hearing Wednesday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the letter focuses on his military achievements, including being the top graduate in his Navy\u2019s Undersea Medical Officer Program class and his deployment as an emergency medicine physician in charge of resuscitative medicine for a forward deployed medical platoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEnsuring benefits such as education, insurance, and vocational training are among some of the most essential work done by the department,\u201d they wrote. \u201cDr. Jackson will be well equipped with his knowledge and experience to address these needs and begin making meaningful reforms on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-905779040.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-905779040.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-905779040.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-905779040.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, physician to President Donald Trump, speaks during the daily White House press briefing on Jan. 26, 2018, at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson, who has served as White House physician under three presidents, was a surprise pick to take over the top VA job after Trump fired former department secretary David Shulkin last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has spent recent days meeting with lawmakers and veterans groups to introduce himself and calm concerns about his inexperience. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to go before the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee for a confirmation hearing, at which lawmakers have promised to ask detailed questions about his views and goals for the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shulkin, who had previously served as VA\u2019s top health official before his promotion to the secretary post in early 2017, was confirmed by the Senate by a 100-0 vote. Since the VA became a Cabinet level agency 30 years ago, no senator has cast a no vote against any president\u2019s secretary nominee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former top VA leaders said Jackson is \u201ceminently qualified\u201d for the post, despite public concerns about his inexperience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":52625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["veterans","news","pentagon-congress","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"4":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","pentagon-congress"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"6":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","pentagon-congress"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"7":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","pentagon-congress"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"8":{"categories":["leadership","management","home","daily-brief","newsletters"],"primary_category":"leadership"}}},"categories":[100,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-44798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XTPNCPUWHJE4PNOVNGHBOBOQYU","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/04\/23\/former-va-secretaries-throw-their-support-behind-trumps-latest-pick-for-the-job\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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