{"id":72532,"date":"2025-03-27T18:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T18:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/03\/27\/senate-confirms-former-va-benefits-chief-as-new-deputy-secretary\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:49:41","slug":"senate-confirms-former-va-benefits-chief-as-new-deputy-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2025\/03\/27\/senate-confirms-former-va-benefits-chief-as-new-deputy-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate confirms former VA benefits chief as new deputy secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senate lawmakers confirmed Paul Lawrence<\/a> as the next Veterans Affairs deputy secretary Thursday, putting in place another key leader at the department as administration officials plan massive reforms for the bureaucracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawrence, who previously served as VA\u2019s under secretary for benefits<\/a> during President Donald Trump\u2019s first term in office, was approved along party lines by a 51-45 vote. He is expected to be sworn into the No. 2 leadership post at the department in the next few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his confirmation hearing last month, Lawrence faced opposition from Democratic lawmakers, not because of his qualifications, but because of concerns about Trump\u2019s reform plans for VA. Those plans include a proposal to slash the VA workforce by more than 80,000 workers<\/a>, bringing staffing back to 2019 levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Democratic votes were not needed in the Republican-majority chamber for Lawrence to be confirmed to the department leadership post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote makes him essentially the chief operating officer for the department, where he\u2019ll be handling a variety of issues, including the ongoing electronic health records overhaul<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t