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White House intends to meet with leading veterans groups amid drama at VA

February 21, 2018 at 6:59 p.m. EST
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin speaks to the media at the White House last May. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly intends to meet with the nation’s leading veterans advocates next week amid ongoing anxiety that there is a desire by some of President Trump’s political appointees to oust Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, according to people familiar with the matter.

The impending White House meeting follows a private gathering Tuesday of the top officials from 12 veterans service organizations (VSOs), including the American Legion, VFW and Disabled Veterans of America. These groups represent millions of former service members and their families, forming one of Trump’s core constituencies.

“At one point … cellphones started ringing and the directors of AMVETS, Legion, VFW and DAV politely excused themselves almost simultaneously to take the calls,” said one person familiar with the gathering. “Each of these calls came from White House meeting schedulers to establish an appointment for VSOs to meet together” with Kelly.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, has told Shulkin to stop the drama and infighting at VA. The White House did not respond to messages seeking details about his objectives for next week’s meeting.

VA chief Shulkin’s job is safe, White House says, unless ‘other stuff comes out’

Kelly’s offer to host the meeting comes as the troubled agency has weathered weeks of negative publicity.

Shulkin, the only Obama-era holdover in Trump’s Cabinet, was accused along with a senior staff member of misleading the agency’s ethics office about a taxpayer-funded trip to Europe last year. He maintains he did nothing improper by having his wife join him and accepting complimentary tickets to a professional tennis match in London. The staffer, Shulkin’s former chief of staff, was replaced last week after announcing her retirement.

White House officials have told Shulkin his job is safe despite the allegations, which were outlined in a report released last week by VA’s inspector general.

The veterans organizations met Tuesday with hopes of forming a united front and to brainstorm strategies for pushing back against the Trump appointees who seem, in their view, overly focused on outsourcing veterans health care. Of principal concern is what they’ve characterized as the outsize influence of a conservative group, Concerned Veterans of America, that advocates expanding options beyond VA.

CVA is backed by Charles and David Koch, billionaires with a deep interest in rolling back government bureaucracy. The group has been one of VA’s most vocal critics since the agency’s 2014 wait-time scandal was exposed. Its profile has grown during the Trump administration, with one of its former senior advisers, Darin Selnick, now serving as veteran affairs adviser inside the White House.

Dan Caldwell, CVA’s director of policy, said it has not proposed the wholesale transfer of VA’s services to the private sector. “What we support is giving veterans the choice to access care in the community if they feel the VA isn’t the best option for them,” he added.

Veterans service organizations say they support Shulkin because they see him as a stopgap, someone who can prevent sending more care outside the VA hospital system.

Lisa Rein contributed to this report.

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