{"id":56438,"date":"2021-01-27T22:15:46","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T22:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/27\/va-secretary-nominee-faces-easy-confirmation-hearing-difficult-task-in-fixing-department\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:25:06","slug":"va-secretary-nominee-faces-easy-confirmation-hearing-difficult-task-in-fixing-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2021\/01\/27\/va-secretary-nominee-faces-easy-confirmation-hearing-difficult-task-in-fixing-department\/","title":{"rendered":"VA secretary nominee faces easy confirmation hearing, difficult task in fixing department"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/10\/biden-to-name-former-wh-chief-of-staff-denis-mcdonough-as-va-secretary-nominee\/\" target=_blank>Denis McDonough<\/a> is confirmed as the next Veterans Affairs secretary, he won\u2019t bring any personal military experience with him to the job, becoming only the second non-veteran to lead the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But on Wednesday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/opinion\/commentary\/2020\/12\/22\/my-pledge-to-our-nations-veterans\/\" target=_blank>former White House chief of staff<\/a> vowed to use his unique background in navigating federal bureaucracy and his passion for serving veterans to improve services at the massive government agency, which has spent much of the last decade moving from controversy to controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis won\u2019t be easy,\u201d McDonough, 51, told members of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee during his confirmation hearing. \u201cThe Department of Veterans Affairs faces great challenges, challenges made even more daunting by the coronavirus pandemic. Its capabilities have not always risen to the needs of our veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf confirmed, I promise to fight every single day to ensure that our veterans have the access to the world-class, compassionate care they have earned.\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\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/10\/biden-to-name-former-wh-chief-of-staff-denis-mcdonough-as-va-secretary-nominee\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20345054846764.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\">Biden to name former WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough as VA secretary nominee<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In confirmed, the 51-year-old would be only the second non-veteran to serve as VA secretary.<\/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\">McDonough, a surprise pick by Biden to oversee the veterans department and its $243 billion annual budget, faced largely friendly questioning from senators on the committee and is expected to easily be confirmed to the Cabinet post early next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But committee members also warned that restoring and maintaining trust in VA \u2014 which provides health care for more than nine million veterans and benefits for millions more \u2014 won\u2019t be as simple, especially with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2021\/01\/25\/va-tops-200000-coronavirus-cases-8500-deaths-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic\/\" target=_blank>ongoing coronavirus pandemic<\/a> ravaging the nation\u2019s veterans community along with many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYour chief responsibility during this unprecedented time will be to save as many lives as possible,\u201d Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., stated bluntly at the hearing. \u201cThere is a lot riding on your shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McDonough listed several immediate priorities for when he takes office, starting with \u201cgetting our veterans through this pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 200,000 VA patients and 18,000 staffers have contracted the virus in the last 11 months, and more than 8,500 patients and 120 staffers have died from complications related to COVID-19.<\/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\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/28\/veterans-in-the-117th-congress-by-the-numbers\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20318607987474.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\">Veterans in the 117th Congress, by the numbers<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Only 91 veterans will serve in the next session of Congress, down five from the previous session.<\/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\">The nominee also committed to finding ways to improve service members\u2019 transition to civilian life \u2014 including making available \u201cthe education and jobs worthy of their skills and talents\u201d \u2014 as well as addressing veterans\u2019 suicide, homelessness and caregiver support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he has in other recent comments, McDonough also committed to \u201censuring that the VA welcomes all our veterans, including women veterans, veterans of color and LGBTQ veterans.\u201d Fixing those issues will involve both community and interagency cooperation, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve been given a clear mission by President Biden: To be a fierce, staunch, advocate for veterans and their families,\u201d McDonough said. \u201cIf confirmed, I will embrace that assignment with the solemnity it demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is not a mission I take on alone. Every federal agency has a role in supporting our veterans. If confirmed, I will make that happen, because when it comes to supporting our veterans and their families, every American has a role to play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senators quizzed McDonough on issues like GI Bill benefits (he promised to work with Congress on better policing of problematic for-profit colleges), privatization of health care services (he said outside medical care will remain \u201ca key part\u201d of VA care plans) and sexual harassment at VA facilities (he vowed to make stopping sexual misconduct a \u201cday one\u201d priority).<\/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\/commentary\/2020\/12\/22\/my-pledge-to-our-nations-veterans\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1290751708.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\">My pledge to our nation\u2019s veterans<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In this commentary, Denis McDonough discusses the experience he would bring as President-elect Joe Biden&#039;s nominee for VA secretary.<\/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\">Since the VA secretary post was elevated to Cabinet-level status, the only other nominee without a military background was David Shulkin, confirmed in early 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only one of the previous 10 secretaries to face any confirmation opposition from senators was Robert Wilkie, McDonough\u2019s immediate predecessor, who was confirmed 86 to 9 in July 2018. All of the others were approved without any objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That tradition could resume with McDonough. Despite his close ties to both Biden and Obama, several Republicans on the veterans panel praised his past work and competency for the job. Ranking member Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, said at the end of the hearing he intends to support McDonough\u2019s nomination when it reaches the Senate floor in coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If confirmed, Denis McDonough would be only the second non-veteran to lead Veterans Affairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":91978,"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":[]},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-56438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6ADZ42SFANFFRNNMDYNVYYBCPU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/01\/27\/va-secretary-nominee-faces-easy-confirmation-hearing-difficult-task-in-fixing-department\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA secretary nominee faces easy confirmation hearing, difficult task in fixing department - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If confirmed, Denis McDonough would be only the second non-veteran to lead Veterans Affairs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA secretary nominee faces easy confirmation hearing, difficult task in fixing department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If confirmed, Denis McDonough would be only the second non-veteran to lead Veterans Affairs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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