There were numerous reports about the VA Secretary being fired from his office last week, White House Deputy Press Secretary has announced that currently President Donald Trump has no plans of letting him go. It was also said that these plans could change in the future.
President Donald Trump is reported to still have confidence in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. The announcement came from White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley. It was an eyebrow raiser for many as there were numerous reports claiming Shulkin to be out of office as early as some point this week.
In a Fox News interview broadcasted this Monday morning Gidley said, “We all serve at the pleasure of the president. If he is not pleased, you‘ll know it. At this point in time, though, he does have confidence in Dr. Shulkin. He is a secretary and he has done some great things at the VA.”
In February many rumors were afloat in the media that president Trump was not happy with Shulkin and he has fallen from Trump’s graces. There were also rumors that were being circulated around infighting in the agency.
They said rumors actually originated from a VA Office Inspector General report. This report alleged that secretary Shulkin has misused federal funds by spending them on a European work trip. Another factor that made the rumors spread even further was Shulkin informing the media that he was actually given the power to sack underperforming staff. Interestingly, it was found that there was no such approval granted to him.
Shulkin has also apologized last week for the disruptions these allegations caused and pushed forward on the VA’s electronic health record and other health IT modernization plans.
Gidley was also pressed about revealing some details about this issue during the morning show but he remained firm and said, “When the president wants to make a change, he will make it. He doesn’t have to try, he doesn’t have to guess. He has the power to do so whether he has a replacement or not, he can still make a change. The president wants to put the best people around him to execute his policy.”
