Trump's VA pick raises concerns

Some question his ability to manage a massive bureaucracy

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's selection off his White House doctor to run the massive Department of Veterans Affairs triggered concern Thursday among veterans groups about whether he has the experience to manage an agency paralyzed over Trump's push to expand private care.

Ronny Jackson, a Navy rear admiral entrusted with the health of the past three presidents, is a lifelong physician whose positions on privatizing operations in the second largest federal department and addressing ballooning health care costs are unknown.

First named to the top White House post by President Barack Obama, he would be new to running a big bureaucracy if given leadership over a department of 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.

In a statement, Trump praised Jackson as "highly trained and qualified."  But representatives of veterans aren't sold on the choice, or on Trump's decision a day earlier to fire VA Secretary David Shulkin.

"There is little that we know about Dr. Ronny Jackson's vision and qualifications," said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.  "Our concern is whether President Trump was more interested in picking a secretary who would be politically loyal rather than someone who can work across the aisle to fix longstanding problems of bureaucratic delay."

Similar doubts were expressed by Veterans of Foreign Wars, which praised Jackson's military background in a statement but pointed to a nominee biography devoid of " any experience working with the VA or with veterans, or managing any organization of size, much less one as multifaceted as the Department of Veterans Affairs."  AMVETS echoed such sentiments.  

We look forward to a rigorous confirmation hearing," Rieckhoff said.

Hope Yen and Calvin Woodard, The Associated Press, 4A Friday, March 30, 2018, dallasnews.com, The Dallas Morning News, Nation.

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