Fired Shulkin bashes White House

Former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin spoke out Thursday about his firing, saying proponents of privatizing veterans healthcare targeted him for removal. “I am convinced that privatization is a political issue aimed at rewarding select people and companies with profits, even if it undermines care for veterans,” he wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times. President Donald Trump fired Shulkin on Wednesday after weeks of speculation he would soon join the list of ex-Cabinet members from this administration. The Veterans Affairs inspector general’s office reported last month that Shulkin improperly accepted tickets to the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London and abused government travel arrangements to allow his wife to travel with him to Europe. Shulkin, the lone Obama administration holdover on Trump’s Cabinet, said in the Times he was falsely accused and the victim of political attacks. During his campaign for president, Trump promised to expand veterans access to private doctors outside the government-run VA system, which is known for long wait times. Trump nominated Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, to replace Shulkin.