Veterans Affairs deputy secretary James Byrne was fired Monday morning, three Trump administration officials tell Axios. The White House confirmed that Byrne is no longer with the administration.
Why it matters: The VA has recently been in inner turmoil. VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said he dismissed Byrne “due to loss of confidence in Mr. Byrne’s ability to carry out his duties.” Wilkie said the decision “is effective immediately,” following Axios’ reporting.
Privatizing the Department of Veterans Affairs would be a massive risk that could threaten the health care of millions of veterans, yet the commander in chief continues to flirt with the idea of pawning off former service members on a ill-equipped private sector.
In response to the latest from The New York Times, United States Marine Corps veteran and DNC Deputy Press Secretary Brian Gabriel released the following statement:
“Simply put, Trump will betray millions of veterans by rerouting billions of dollars from veterans’ hospitals into the private sector. The health of America’s guardians should remain firmly in the hands of the U.S. government, not corporations who would happily place profits over people.” Continue reading “ICYMI: The New York Times: V.A. Seeks to Redirect Billions of Dollars Into Private Care”
Newly released emails about the three Trump associates who secretly steered the Department of Veterans Affairs show how deeply the trio was involved in some of the agency’s most consequential matters, most notably a multibillion-dollar effort to overhaul electronic health records for millions of veterans.
Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter, West Palm Beach physician Bruce Moskowitz and lawyer Marc Sherman — part of the president’s circle at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — reviewed a confidential draft of a $10 billion government contract for the electronic-records project, even though they lack any relevant expertise.
In preparing the contract, the agency consulted more than 40 outside experts, such as hospital executives, according to the records, which were released under the Freedom of Information Act. The Mar-a-Lago trio were listed among those experts. Perlmutter, a comic book tycoon, appears on the list between representatives from the University of Washington Medical Center, Intermountain Healthcare and Johns Hopkins University.
View the complete December 3 article by Isaac Arnsdorf on the ProPublica.org website here.
The following article by Lisa Rein was posted on the Washington Post website July 18, 2018:
Ahead of Robert Wilkie’s likely confirmation to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, Trump loyalists at the agency are taking aggressive steps to purge or reassign staff members perceived to be disloyal to President Trump and his agenda for veterans, according to multiple people familiar with the moves.
The transfers include more than a dozen career civil servants who have been moved from the leadership suite at VA headquarters and reassigned to lower-visibility roles. The employees served agency leaders, some dating back more than two decades, in crucial support roles that help a new secretary.
None said they were given reasons for their reassignments.
View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.
