{"id":19241,"date":"2018-01-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/21\/trumps-go-to-guy-at-va-faces-first-major-opposition-from-republicans-on-capitol-hill\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:43:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:43:04","slug":"trumps-go-to-guy-at-va-faces-first-major-opposition-from-republicans-on-capitol-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2018\/01\/21\/trumps-go-to-guy-at-va-faces-first-major-opposition-from-republicans-on-capitol-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s go-to guy at VA faces first major opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In an exclusive interview, VA secretary David Shulkin gives his take on what 2018 needs to look like for the embattled department.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin had arguably the most successful year of anyone in President Donald Trump\u2019s Cabinet, with frequent praise from lawmakers, veterans groups and the West Wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it was a jarring moment this week at a routine Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee hearing when a Republican senator called him a habitual liar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think you tell me one thing and you tell others something else,\u201d said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., adding that he blamed \u201cyour ability to speak out of both sides of your mouth, double-talk\u201d for recent disagreements on veterans policy in the chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s incompatible with our ability to reach agreements and work together. I intend to be a member of Congress who holds you accountable for what you tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moment caught Shulkin and several members of the audience off guard, but not other panel members. Several offered their own complaints about unfulfilled promises in recent months. The committee also took the unusual step of swearing in Shulkin as a witness, a move that seemed unimportant at the time but loomed large after Moran\u2019s accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secretary downplayed the incident afterwards, insisting he wasn\u2019t blindsided by the criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe job of the Senate is to provide oversight, and if there are concerns, I want them to share them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the conflict underscored a message from committee chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., at the start of the hearing. After lauding Shulkin\u2019s successes in his first year on the job and complimenting him as a \u201cforthright leader,\u201d he also hinted that goodwill won\u2019t guarantee an easy year two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are at the time where there are no excuses for the problems we have had with hiring, there are no excuses for the problems we had with information technology, there are no excuses for the problems with appeals and all those other issues,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about looking at the past and what we did, and looking for results in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s go-to guy<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Trump\u2019s inner circle of executive branch appointees, Shulkin is the lone holdover from former President Barack Obama\u2019s administration. And yet despite Trump\u2019s stated animosity towards all things Obama, Shulkin also appears to be one of Trump\u2019s most trusted Cabinet members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shulkin has been much more of a fixture at the White House than his predecessors, attending a host of military and health care meetings beyond the expected veteran policy events. Trump smiles whenever he mentions that Shulkin was confirmed 100-0 by the Senate (a replica of that Senate vote hangs on his VA office wall next to pictures of him with Trump).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three times the VA secretary has briefed reporters in the press room, a duty normally reserved for more prominent Cabinet posts. At Shulkin\u2019s suggestion, Trump hosted an August briefing on VA telehealth \u2014 an issue that in the past may not have warranted even a White House press release \u2014 just a few feet away from the Oval Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Shulkin\u2019s VA has been a steady stream of good news for a Trump administration besieged by controversy. Nine major pieces of veterans legislation passed through Congress last year, including new firing authorities for department workers that Republican supporters have coveted for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shulkin has made aggressive moves to align VA electronic medical records with Defense Department systems, to publicly post more information on VA operations, and to extend some emergency care services to veterans previously barred from department medical centers. He also spearheaded Trump\u2019s promised veterans complaints line, taking the campaign promise even further by working to have it staffed entirely by veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At an event earlier this month focusing on preventing veteran suicide, Trump hailed Shulkin\u2019s \u201ctremendous strides\u201d in reforming a department he has often called broken and hopeless. In an interview with Military Times, Shulkin credited Trump as the impetus for change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president has clearly set the tone, and that VA as it currently exists is not meeting its potential, is not fulfilling the mission to the people that it should in the way that it should.,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that frankly I want to hear from a leader: a direct, objective assessment of where the problems are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he has tried to copy his own leadership practices after Trump\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(The president) has made clear what his objective are, and he\u2019s going to allow you to accomplish them,\u201d Shulkin said. \u201cBut there are limits to that. The objectives have to be accomplished with real, meaningful metrics, and within quick time frames. And if not, I know I\u2019ll hear from him, and get feedback that that\u2019s not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while hailing the work so far, Shulkin only gave himself a grade of incomplete for the progress of the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI generally tend to be impatient,\u201d he said, echoing another trait he shares with the commander in chief. \u201cAnd I really want to make major changes for this organization because I believe it is essential we get this system right and we get it right quickly \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
President Donald Trump, right, standing with Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, left, recognizes someone in the audience as he speaks during a bill signing event for the “Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017,” in the East Room of the White House on June 23, 2017. (Susan Walsh\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unfinished business<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest unfinished piece of business for Shulkin is also the one that he was hired specifically to tackle: overhauling the VA\u2019s health care system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shulkin, who is still a practicing physician, managed a series of private-sector health systems before being named as the department\u2019s top health official in 2015. When Trump announced he wanted to promote him to the secretary spot a year ago, it came with the charge that the doctor \u201cstraighten out the whole situation for veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Veterans Health Administration currently boasts more than 1,700 medical facilities and about 8 million patients nationwide, yet for years has been attacked by critics for being inadequate to cover the medical needs of veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, after a scandal over patient wait times lead to the resignation of then VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, Republican lawmakers stepped up efforts to solve access problems at the department by allowing more care outside those federal medical centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brought the formation of the controversial VA Choice program, which conservatives have decried as still too restrictive for patients and Democrats have labeled the first step towards privatizing government responsibilities in veterans health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump was in the former group, declaring on the campaign trail in 2016 that veterans should have a freer hand in choosing which doctors they want to see. Shulkin\u2019s job has been to bring that idea to reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA in recent months has proposed an expanding network of federal facilities and private-sector practices with easier eligibility criteria, easier payments for outside physicians and easier funding lines to keep the program operational. Lawmakers from both parties have signed on to parts of the plan in recent months, but it remains stalled in both chambers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything I am doing is trying to strengthen the VA system,\u201d Shulkin said, repeating his promise that the steps are not designed to privatize VA. \u201cI think the way to do strengthen the system and fulfill your mission is by working closely with the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never had an expectation that things were going to move quickly. But as long as they are moving in the right direction, and I believe they are moving in the right direction, it\u2019s OK. I wish they would move faster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (second from left) and VA Secretary David Shulkin (third from left) listen to pre-event instructions before the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day weekend rally on May 28, 2017. (Staff photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Growing tensions?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moran believes the health care overhaul would move quicker, if Shulkin would be more honest about his positions on the reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Moran objected to Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee legislation to create a new community care program over concerns that the new rules left too much power with VA, and not with patients. He insists that behind closed doors Shulkin agreed with him. Committee leadership said Shulkin told them he was comfortable with the eligibility limits that Democratic members had endorsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The confusion prompted Isakson over the winter break to reach out to the White House for clarification on administration positions. A formal response \u2014 one that Shulkin will have a role in crafting \u2014 is expected in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the tension is the most jarring to date between the VA Secretary and Congress, it\u2019s not the first. Last summer, when White House officials suggested cutting an unemployment benefit for elderly veterans to save money, lawmakers complained they were blindsided by the suggestion. Shuklin withdrew the plan, acknowledging it as a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veterans groups have publicly praised the secretary for his openness but also quietly complained that his closed-room promises don\u2019t always match up with public testimony answers. A recent change on marijuana policy, allowing doctors to discuss drug use with patients, was hailed as a major shift in private meetings with advocates but dismissed as non-news by VA spokespeople afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the suicide prevention event at the White House earlier this month caused minor controversy in the community. VA officials knew Trump was planning on addressing the issue with a new executive action. Lawmakers and key veterans leaders found out about it from the press a few hours in advance, and questioned why they were kept in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the conflicts, Shulkin blamed the problems on ambition, not apathy towards other stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you are moving quickly, and you\u2019re trying to create change and transformation \u2026 you often are moving quickly and make some mistakes,\u201d he said. \u201cI think anyone who has done a start up company or been involved in a major turn-around understands that risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou sometimes need to fail at some things in order to accomplish your goal. There is no doubt that where we have done that, where we have moved fast and made potential mistakes, and our colleagues at the veterans service organizations have pointed it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope they\u2019ll also recognize I have acknowledged those mistakes and corrected them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
VA Secretary David Shulkin visits the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on April 27. (Megan Garcia\/Defense Department)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The path ahead<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those mostly hidden conflicts haven\u2019t stopped Shulkin from getting legislative wins. Even with all the problems and unanswered questions surrounding community care for veterans, Shulkin twice convinced lawmakers to approve big extensions of the existing Choice program, totaling more than $4.2 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And after this week\u2019s tense hearing, Iskason downplayed potential problems with Shulkin\u2019s leadership style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe does what he says what he\u2019s going to do,\u201d the committee chairman said. \u201cI have a lot of confidence in the secretary. I think this meeting served a great purpose, to get him on the right record to defend what he has done and what he says he is going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Shulkin noted that for all the successes of the past year, his department still has a host of unfinished work. He knows he\u2019ll be judged on whether those promises are fulfilled moving ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think you\u2019re going to continue to see regular progress on what we have talked about,\u201d he said when asked about his upcoming priorities. \u201cYou\u2019re going to see increased efforts to be transparent about our problems and solutions. You\u2019re going to see increased announcements related to modernization of the VA system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A department report on implementation of sweeping new education reforms is due in early March. Nominees for a pair of top department leadership positions should be announced in early February. New reforms to benefits appeals cases won\u2019t be fully implemented until 2019, but Shulkin this week promised veterans should start seeing improvements well before then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, Shulkin added, \u201cyou\u2019re going to see our major legislative focus on the Choice program. That\u2019s essential for us to get right. As I\u2019ve said, I don\u2019t think status quo is the right answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Money for the current community care program is expected to run out sometime this spring. Shulkin and lawmakers are hopeful they\u2019ll have a replacement by then. But they were also hopeful last fall, before talks stalled and they had to pass emergency funding just before Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shulkin insists that he\u2019s not frustrated by that. Just impatient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you can enter this job and have a lot of expectations,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all uncharted territory. I think we see that every day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VA Secretary David Shulkin, who has earned voluminous praise from the White House and lawmakers for his first year leading the department, faces a bigger test in year 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