Wednesday morning President-elect Donald Trump held his first press conference after his victory of the election. A lot was said during the press conference, so if you missed it you can view my takeaways and watch the actual press conference here.
The biggest announcement from the press conference was President-elect Trump announced who his head of Veteran Affairs will be. His pick is David Shulkin. So who is Shulkin, is it a good pick and what is his role going to be?
Some quick facts about David Shulkin
- He’s a 56 year old very talented Doctor
- He’s the current Undersecretary of Veterans Affairs.
- He Left Behind a $1.3 Million Job in Morristown, New Jersey to Earn $170,000 at the VA
What are the duties of the VA Secretary?
Taken from AllGov.com
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible for providing vital services to America’s veterans. VA provides health care services, benefits programs and access to national cemeteries to former military personnel and their dependants. The department carries out its duties through three main administrative divisions: Veterans Benefits Administration; Veterans Health Administration; and National Cemetery Administration. All three divisions have run into trouble while carrying out their missions, including controversies involving VA hospitals and longstanding delays in providing services.
This is what Donald Trump had to say about Shulkin…
“I have no doubt Dr. Shulkin will be able to lead the turnaround our Department of Veterans Affairs needs,” Trump said at his first news conference since his election, calling him an “incredibly gifted doctor.”
“His sole mandate will be to serve our veterans and restore the level of care we owe to our brave men and women in the military,” Trump said. “Sadly our great veterans have not gotten the level of care they deserve, but Dr. Shulkin has the experience and the vision to ensure we will meet the health-care needs of every veteran.”
This is what David Shulkin had to say about being nominated.
“It is my honor to serve as President-elect Trump’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs. President-elect Trump’s commitment to caring for our veterans is unquestionable, and he is eager to support the best practices for care and provide our Veterans Affairs’ teams with the resources they need to improve health outcomes. We are both eager to begin reforming the areas in our Veterans Affairs system that need critical attention, and do it in a swift, thoughtful and responsible way.”
Overall I’m happy with this pick. The VA is in disarray. It needs to be revamped to take care of our men and woman in armed forces.
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