White House: Trump has confidence in Shulkin ‘at this point in time’ 
 
 President Donald Trump has confidence in David Shulkin “at this point in time” despite reports that the Veterans Affairs secretary may be fired as early as this week, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said on Monday. 
 
 “We all serve at the pleasure of the president. If he is not pleased, you‘ll know it,” Gidley said in an interview on Fox News. “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. As you know, the president wants to put the right people in the right place at the right time and that could change.“ 
 
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 Shulkin has reportedly been viewed negatively after being accused of excessive spending on travel and for saying he has been given the blessing of the White House to purge VA staffers he accused of “subversion,” though he's been given no such approval. 
 
 When pressed about reports on Monday that Trump would like to fire Shulkin but doesn’t have a replacement, Gidley said, “When the president wants to make a change, he will make it.“ 
 
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 “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,” he said. “The president wants to put the best people around him to execute his policy.“ 
 
 White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah on Monday afternoon declined to discuss Shulkin's future, saying there will be “no personnel announcements” when he was asked about the secretary at the White House press briefing. 
 
 “I haven't asked the president about it today. I don't want to comment on it too specifically,” Shah said. ||||| Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin testifies on FY2019 and FY2020 budgets for veterans programs before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Washington.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin testifies on FY2019 and FY2020 budgets for veterans programs before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (Associated Press) 
 
 PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is planning to oust embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin amid an extraordinary rebellion at the agency and damaging government investigations into his alleged spending abuses, three administration officials told The Associated Press on Sunday. 
 
 Two officials said an announcement on Shulkin could happen this week, subject to Trump's final decision as the White House hones in on possible replacements to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. One of the officials rated Shulkin's chances of being pushed out in the next day or two at "50-50." The three officials demanded anonymity to discuss a sensitive personnel matter. 
 
 Trump, who spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate, told associates that he would keep two other administration officials who had been under fire: White House chief of staff John F. Kelly and Housing Secretary Ben Carson. 
 
 "He did say that he's expecting to make one or two major changes," said Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a Trump confidant who spoke with the president over the weekend, on ABC's "This Week." 
 
 "Now, other White House sources, not the president, tell me that Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is likely to depart the Cabinet very soon," Ruddy said. 
 
 The White House did not immediately comment. Shulkin did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. 
 
 Speculation over Shulkin's fate has ramped up in recent weeks following a blistering report by VA's internal watchdog in February that found he had improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets and his staff had doctored emails to justify his wife traveling to Europe with him at taxpayer expense. Earlier this month, two people familiar with the White House discussions told the AP that Trump increasingly viewed Shulkin as a distraction as the White House floated the names of possible candidates to replace him, including conservative "Fox & Friends" contributor Pete Hegseth. 
 
 A separate VA watchdog investigation, due out in the coming weeks, is also looking into a complaint that Shulkin asked his security detail to accompany him to a Home Depot store and cart furniture items, according to two people familiar with the allegation who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. 
 
 One person familiar with the White House discussions told the AP on Sunday that the White House was looking closely at roughly half a dozen candidates to head the VA, the government's second-largest department with 370,000 employees. 
 
 Among the candidates being vetted include Hegseth, a former military officer and former CEO of the conservative Concerned Veterans for America; former Rep. Jeff Miller, who had been chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee; retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; Michael Kussman, a former VA undersecretary of health; Toby Cosgrove, a former president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic; and Leo Mackay Jr., a former VA deputy secretary who is now senior vice president at Lockheed Martin Corp. 
 
 In the event of Shulkin's departure, deputy VA secretary Tom Bowman would serve as acting head of the VA until a nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Bowman has also come under criticism at the White House for being too moderate to push Trump's agenda of fixing veterans' care. 
 
 During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to fix the VA by expanding access to private doctors and firing bad employees, criticizing the department as "the most corrupt." Last year, Trump promised to triple the number of veterans "seeing the doctor of their choice." 
 
 But a Trump administration plan to expand the Veterans Choice program remains in limbo after lawmakers declined last week to include it in a massive spending bill. 
 
 In response to the ethics issues, Shulkin has denied wrongdoing and complained about internal drama at the agency that has made it difficult for him to push through VA improvements, citing a half dozen or so political appointees there who were rebelling against him. 
 
 But Kelly, the White House chief of staff, recently made it clear to Shulkin that he had become weary of the VA secretary's tendency to run to the media to voice complaints and claim a White House mandate that he did not fully have, according to a person familiar with the conversations who wasn't authorized to discuss them publicly and insisted on anonymity. 
 
 The department provides medical care and other benefits to 9 million military veterans in more than 1,700 health facilities around the U.S. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Yen reported from Washington. Washington bureau chief Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin contributed to this report. ||||| When POLITICO asked the White House for comment about the potential legal issues surrounding former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin’s replacement, a spokeswoman said Shulkin had resigned. | Olivier Douliery - Pool/Getty Images Did Shulkin get fired or resign? This is why it matters. Trump potentially opened the door to legal challenges that could hobble the VA. 
 
 The White House is now asserting that recently departed Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin resigned. Shulkin has made it clear in his public comments that he was forced out. 
 
 While Washington often wraps firings in the verbal cloak of a resignation, the distinction this time could have far-reaching implications that could throw the Department of Veterans Affairs, the second-largest federal agency, into further disarray. 
 
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 In announcing the removal of Shulkin as VA secretary, Trump tapped Defense Department official Robert Wilkie as the acting leader of the department, bypassing Shulkin’s deputy, who was next in line to succeed him. That decision has reignited a debate among legal experts about the president’s ability to hand-pick replacements for ousted Cabinet secretaries. 
 
 The debate centers on vague language in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which gives the president broad authority to temporarily fill a vacancy at a federal agency with an acting official if the current office holder “dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office.” 
 
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 But some legal experts note that the law does not explicitly grant that authority to the president in the case of firings. That could make Trump’s decision to appoint Wilkie, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, as acting VA secretary a potential test of the president’s authorities under the act. 
 
 And it means that any formal actions Wilkie takes as acting secretary could face a legal challenge that might stall sorely needed reforms and modernizations at the troubled agency. 
 
 When POLITICO asked the White House for comment about the potential legal issues surrounding Shulkin’s replacement, spokeswoman Lindsey Walters said in a statement, “Secretary Shulkin resigned from his position as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.” 
 
 Walters’ comment is in sharp contrast with the well-established narrative that Trump fired Shulkin. Until now, the White House has made little effort to correct the many press accounts saying Shulkin was removed. 
 
 The White House declined to elaborate on the exact circumstances surrounding Shulkin’s ouster or offer any evidence to support the assertion. A VA spokesman referred a request for comment to the White House. 
 
 But a person familiar with Shulkin’s dismissal strongly disputed that Shulkin resigned, noting that he did not submit a resignation letter. Shulkin’s removal happened so quickly, the person said, that he was never given the opportunity to return to his office or address VA employees. 
 
 Shulkin, for his part, has publicly criticized the White House for its handling of his removal. During an interview with MSNBC this week, he said Trump never mentioned his plans to push him out during a phone call on Wednesday. White House chief of staff John Kelly subsequently informed him of the president’s intention later that afternoon. 
 
 Under normal circumstances, the VA’s No. 2, Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman, would have stepped in as secretary after Shulkin departed. But Trump and many in the White House have clashed with Bowman, believing him to be opposed to efforts to move toward more privatized veterans health services. 
 
 Wilkie could serve as acting VA chief for several months while Trump’s nominee to permanently lead the department, White House physician Ronny Jackson, awaits confirmation in the Senate. 
 
 Any significant policy decision Wilkie makes during that time could prompt a challenge from an injured party claiming that Wilkie doesn’t have the legal authority to lead the department in an acting capacity. 
 
 The succession question could also reemerge if Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions and seeks to install an acting AG from another agency instead of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein has been on the receiving end of Trump’s ire in recent months. 
 
 Trump signed an executive order last year reorganizing the order of succession at the Justice Department. 
 
 A challenge to Trump’s decision to appoint Wilkie would be unprecedented, according to experts. But some added that it could be an increasingly attractive option for outside groups who want to overturn the Trump administration’s policy moves. 
 
 “It’s an open question. There are ways to read the statute both ways,” said Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. “There’s reason to wonder if Congress would have wanted to give the president such broad ability to fill a vacancy he creates.” 
 
 Even if the VA succession goes unchallenged, Vladeck said picking an acting official outside the traditional line of succession could be a “dry run” for similar maneuvers at other agencies, including the Justice Department. 
 
 Anne Joseph O'Connell, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in the Vacancies Act, said, “It’s conceivable that somebody could bring a challenge to a decision made by the acting secretary. But it’s really hard for me to see a court saying the act doesn’t apply.” 
 
 O'Connell said she believes the law does in fact apply to firings and she listed several potential hurdles to mounting a serious legal challenge. Among them: finding somebody who has been injured by a decision made by the acting secretary and convincing a court that the law intended to stop presidents from picking acting secretaries after a firing. Another potential difficulty: figuring out a way to differentiate between a firing and a forced resignation. 
 
 But there are potential avenues for a lawsuit. Shulkin was fired before he could finalize a $16 billion electronic health records contract. If Wilkie signs the contract as acting administrator, a party that claims to be injured by the contract could bring a court challenge, O’Connell noted. 
 
 The Justice Department, for its part, has suggested that firings are applicable under the Vacancies Act. In 1999 guidance issued shortly after the act was signed into law, DOJ acknowledged that the “full range” of what would constitute a vacancy under the act is “unspecified.” But the guidance noted that senators mentioned the issue of firing when debating the legislation. 
 
 “In floor debate, Senators said, by way of example, that an officer would be ‘otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office’ if he or she were fired, imprisoned, or sick,” the guidance says.
– Reports were out over the weekend that Veterans Affairs secretary David Shulkin may be the next Cabinet member to get the boot, but White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley downplayed those reports Monday—somewhat. "We all serve at the pleasure of the president. If he is not pleased, you‘ll know it," Gidley said on Fox News, according to Politico. "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. As you know, the president wants to put the right people in the right place at the right time and that could change." Sources told CNN and the AP over the weekend that Trump planned to oust Shulkin, possibly as early as this week, but that he wanted to have a replacement selected first. Pressed on that subject, Gidley said, "When the president wants to make a change, he will make it. ... Whether he has a replacement or not, he can still make a change." Shulkin has been under fire due to accusations of excessive spending and policy differences with the White House, leading to friction within his department. (Trump was at one point reportedly considering Energy Secretary Rick Perry as Shulkin's replacement.)