VA chief had security staffer shop with him at Home Depot, bring furniture into his home: report
Source: The Hill
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is under investigation for allegedly having a member of his security team shop with him at Home Depot and then carry furniture into Shulkin’s home, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The incident is reportedly included in an ongoing audit into whether the agency head had used security staffers for personal errands. That inspector general report is set to be released this summer.
President Trump is reportedly considering firing Shulkin and replacing him with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, as Shulkin faces ongoing political infighting within the VA.
Shulkin has claimed that political appointees in the department are undermining him. The Washington Post reported last week that the VA head now has an armed guard at his door and cancelled all meetings with the Trump appointees.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/378238-va-chief-had-security-staffer-shop-with-him-at-home-depot-bring
Using your security chief as a personal assistant and handyman seems almost benign compared with most of the other acts by the tRump gang.
Anyway, here's the AP story Besieged from within, VA’s Shulkin hangs on as support wanes
Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is hanging onto his job by a thread as he faces an insurgency from within the agency and new allegations that he had a member of his security detail go shopping with him at Home Depot and then cart the purchases into his house.
Senior administration officials say Shulkin is increasingly on thin ice with President Donald Trump after a bruising internal report found ethics violations in connection with the secretary’s trip to Europe with his wife last summer.
A political adviser installed by Trump at the Department of Veterans Affairs has openly mused to other VA staff about ousting the former Obama administration official. And a top communications aide has taken extended leave following a secret, failed attempt to turn lawmakers against him.
“The honeymoon is ending with a crash that hurts veterans most of all,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, who has been a close observer of VA for more than a decade. “VA always has bad news, but Shulkin’s ethical and leadership failures are still significant — despite any internal attacks.”
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