WATCH: Key Dem ‘very concerned’ about VA chief amid talk of firing
A key Senate Democrat is voicing concerns about Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin after President Trump abruptly ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this week and warned about other potential Cabinet shakeups.
“I can tell you I’m very, very concerned about all the turmoil around Shulkin,” Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.), the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in an interview with The Hill.
“Our veterans deserve predictability and consistency,” Tester said.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Shulkin, told reporters this week that there had been “no conversation” about making such a move, calling it “fake news.” But rumors of Shulkin’s firing have continued to swirl, prompting key Republicans to defend him.
Perry appeared before Tester at a Commerce Committee hearing alongside four other Cabinet secretaries this week. Asked if Tester would support Perry as head of the VA, the Democratic senator responded, “If he’s for privatization of the VA and unfettered choice, I will not be voting for anybody that wants that.”
Speculation on Capitol Hill swirled that Shulkin could be among senior administration officials who are next to go as Trump seeks to make changes to his Cabinet. Trump said this week that he’s “getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want.”
Trump announced his ouster of Tillerson on Tuesday on Twitter, a week after he accepted the resignation of his chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, amid differences over the president’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) characterized the staff changes as “a continuation of the chaos show, this has been a reality television president.”
Republican lawmakers, however, took the president’s brash ouster of Tillerson as par for the course, brushing it off as Trump’s unconventional management style.
“This president doesn’t do things the way that other administrations have and we’ve kind of gotten used to that,” Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 3 Senate Republican, said in an interview.
“In terms of the turnover, it’s not unusual. Most administrations have turnover and some, very early, I think, in their administration,” Thune maintained.
Click the video above to hear the lawmakers in their own words.
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