Trump taps Wilkie to head VA

President Donald Trump on Friday announced he has selected acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie as his nominee to permanently lead the department. The president revealed his decision during a prison reform event at the White House and said it was a surprise to Wilkie. “He doesn’t know this yet—that we’re going to be putting his name up for nomination to be secretary of the veterans administration,” Trump said. Wilkie, a former Pentagon undersecretary for personnel and readiness, has led the department since the president fired David Shulkin in March amid an ethics scandal and mounting rebellion within the agency. Trump previously nominated White House physician Ronny Jackson, but Jackson abruptly withdrew last month. As acting veterans affairs secretary, Wilkie announced Thursday a $10 billion contract with Cerner Corp. to overhaul electronic health records for millions of veterans, a 10-year project that aims to improve mental health care and ease access to private providers.