The Department of Veterans Affairs has experienced five months of tumult. Its previous secretary got into a political brawl with his staff and was fired by Twitter message. His first proposed replacement was scuttled by allegations of drunkenness. Then the acting secretary who took charge was accused of making false statements to Congress. In the department’s headquarters a block from the White House, political appointees who worked in the Trump campaign forced career officials out of key positions; inexperienced newcomers published an erroneous report about thousands of military suicides that never happened; and the department’s top technology official fended off calls from Congress to resign over his ties to Cambridge Analytica, the voter-profiling company. Enter Robert L. Wilkie, who was sworn in Monday as the new secretary of Veterans Affairs. In addition to the dizzying task of managing more than 350,000 employees and 1,700 facilities — the second-largest federal bureaucracy after the Defense Department — Mr. Wilkie must now try to quell the infighting and scandal roiling the department’s headquarters. As a show of force in his first week on the job, Mr. Wilkie, a lawyer and Air Force Reserve officer who has spent his career on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon, intends to reassign a number of divisive political appointees to less influential posts, according to a Defense Department official who is familiar with Mr. Wilkie’s plans. Among them will be the chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, press secretary and acting chief information officer, the official said.<doc-sep>President Trump swore Robert Wilkie in as Veterans Affairs secretary Monday at the White House. Fixing the broken VA health system is a campaign promise Trump made in 2016 during the election. Trump has signed legislation allowing greater flexibility for veterans seeking health. During the swearing-in ceremony, Trump said of Wilkie: Robert Wilkie is the proud son of an Army veteran, an artillery officer raised on the base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That’s a great place. On his daily walk to high school with the woman who is now his wife, he passed by the Fayetteville VA hospital, which bore the inscription: “The Price of Freedom is Visible Here.” It made a big impact. It was a price Robert saw firsthand through his own father, who was gravely injured in combat during the Vietnam War. Robert went on to serve as an officer in both the Air Force and the Navy, then as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, and as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Robert also serves with distinction as Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs. During the swearing-in ceremony, Wilkie produced a worn-looking Bible. The Bible had an incredible story to it, which Wilkie shared with his audience. “The Bible that I will take my oath on reminds me of the 100th anniversary of the end of the war to end all wars,” Wilkie said, referring to WW1, “It was a Bible taken into battle by my wife’s grandfather who had probably never ventured beyond three or four counties in North and South Carolina. But by the time he was 18, he was marching up the Champs-Élysées into the cauldron of the Meuse-Argonne.” Wilkie continued, telling the story of ordinary Americans who fought gallantly in the war: On another part of that battlefield was a young captain of field artillery — my great-grandfather — who left a small-town law practice in Cleveland, Mississippi, to join up with the All American Division, which, by the way, had a reluctant soldier, a scratch farmer from Pall Mall, Tennessee by way of Buncombe County, North Carolina, who would not only earn the Medal of Honor but go on to the be the greatest hero of that war. Private Onslow Bullard, Captain A.D. Somerville, and Sergeant Alvin York — ordinary Americans called upon to do extraordinary things. It is their … descendants whom we are honored to serve. Millions of ordinary Americans who have answered a special call for us. Mr. President, I am humbled by your confidence. I am humbled by the prospect of serving those who have borne the battle, those American men and women who have sacrificed so much. WATCH:<doc-sep>President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the nine opposition votes against Robert Wilkie, the newly confirmed secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, were cast by left-wing senators seeking to run against him in 2020. "The only ones, actually, that voted against [Wilkie] were all of the people -- super-lefts -- that are running against me in two-and-a-half years," he said in an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City. Wilkie, 55, of North Carolina, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday to become the next VA secretary, succeeding the fired Dr. David Shulkin, by a vote of 86-9. Usually, VA nominees have unanimous bipartisan support, but the vote Monday was the first time there was opposition to the nominee to head the VA since the post became a cabinet position in 1989. Eight Democrats and one Independent voted against Wilkie. They were Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Dianne Feinstein of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Ron Wyden of Oregon. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also opposed the nomination. Several could be considered 2020 candidates, but Feinstein, Markey, Merkley and Wyden would be unlikely possibilities. Wilkie, a Republican who served in staff positions on Capitol Hill and at the White House, was aboard Air Force One with Trump for the trip to Kansas City. "He's going to do a fantastic job," Trump said of Wilkie, an Air Force Reserve colonel who moved over to the VA from his post as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "There's nothing more important to me" than reforming the VA, Trump told the audience. He also strongly suggested that Acting VA Secretary Peter O'Rourke, who has been charged by Democrats with pushing out those at the VA considered "disloyal" to Trump, would be staying on at the department. "I also want to thank our Acting VA Secretary Peter O'Rourke for doing such a fantastic job in the meantime, holding down the fort until Wilkie got approved," Trump said. "And Peter is going to be joining the whole team, and they are doing numbers and they are doing a job with Choice and with all of the other things that we've gotten approved." He referred to the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans the option of seeking private health care. The Choice Program has been extended for one year while the VA implements the VA Mission Act to consolidate and overhaul Choice programs. Several Democrats who voted for Wilkie urged him to consider sacking O'Rourke and other political appointees who they charged favored the "privatization" of VA health care. "I hope Mr. Wilkie can turn the page on this chapter of uncertainty and dysfunction caused by inexperienced Trump political appointees, and I urge him to bring in an entirely new leadership team to complement existing dedicated career civil servants," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said in a statement. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.<doc-sep>
On Monday, the Senate confirmed Robert Wilkie as Secretary of the Department for Veterans Affairs. Wilkie has served as the acting secretary since President Trump announced he would replace David Shulkin. Trump originally intended to nominate Adm. Ronny Jackson as secretary, but Jackson withdrew his name from consideration. Wilkie is a graduate of Wake Forest University, Georgetown University and Loyola University. He also holds a masters in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. Wilkie served in the United States Naval Reserve and later joined the Air Force as a reserve officer and was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff. Wilkie formally served as the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. The VA is the second largest governmental department with 360,000 employees who serve 9 million veterans. Wilkie served as the principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management as it relates to readiness according to the Department of Defense (DOD). "He advises the Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management on the National Guard, training, health issues and personnel requirements,” reported Fox News. He grew up as a military brat whose father was an artillery commander and he spent ten years at Fort Bragg. During the Bush administration, Wilkie served under both Robert Gates and Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense from 2005-2009. Wilkie was the youngest senior leader in the department. Prior to working at the Pentagon, he was the Special Assistant to President Bush for National Security Affairs. Wilkie also served under Dr. Condoleezza Rice as senior director of the National Security Council. Wilkie has previously served as a Senior Advisor to Sen. Thom Tillis as well as serving the Majority Leader Trent Lott as Counsel and Advisor on International Security Affairs.