VA Secretary nominee promising he’s opposed to privatizing agency

Former Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin, MD, said he was pushed out of his position because he opposed privatizing veterans’ healthcare. The nominee to replace him, White House physician Ronny Jackson, MD, has been promising Democratic senators that he’s also against privatization of the VA.

Shulkin’s claims have been denied by the VA but remain an important question for Jackson as he meets with Democrats. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate VA Committee, told reporters Jackson echoed Shulkin’s views in a private meeting, saying “wants to build capacity within the VA and he was not interested in privatizing it.” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, also met with Jackson, reporting to the Washington Post that “he said all the right things about not privatizing the VA.”

Other Democrats weren’t convinced Jackson, a one-star Navy admiral, could resist pressure from Trump administration appointees to move more care away from the VA to private practices.

“He was convincing enough to me for now, but I want to see him after he talks to the American Legion and Disabled American Vets and Paralyzed Veterans of America and the VFW and all,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who met with Jackson on Tuesday. “He needs to convince them, and then he needs to convince all of us in a public setting that he will stand up to the president and to the Koch brothers when they try to privatize.”