Trump's most popular Cabinet secretary is Obama holdover
The VA's Shulkin has cut through red tape, made big changes.
By ARTHUR ALLEN 08/28/2017 04:57 AM EDT
VA Secretary David Shulkin has proven to be something unique in President Donald Trump's Washington: an Obama appointee nominated by Trump who is beloved by almost everyone and getting stuff done.
By tweaking regulations, he has managed to fire hundreds of allegedly incompetent employees, publicized waiting times at VA clinics, gotten money to expand vets’ treatment by private doctors, and expanded care for isolated vets through telemedicine and mobile phones, while promising to close 430 vacant VA buildings and speed up benefit awards. Shulkin also made a bold — and risky — decision to bypass contracting rules to buy a $16 billion digital health record system.
“What motivates me and what motivates Dr. Shulkin is the same, to provide the best care to veterans,” said Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn), chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee. “I don’t know whether he’s a Republican or Democrat, and I could care less.”
But there’s a reason Shulkin was Trump’s fourth choice for the VA job — or possibly the fifth, or the 10th, depending on whom you ask. The VA, with 350,000 employees and 1,250 health care sites, is a political quagmire. Not many people want to clean up others’ messes with hundreds of people looking over their shoulder.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/28/trump-shuklin-veterans-obama-holdover-242047?lo=ap_a1
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