Week ahead: Senate poised to confirm Trump’s VA nominee

The Senate is poised to make David Shulkin the new head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Senators will begin debate on Shulkin’s nomination Monday, with a vote expected that same day.

Shulkin breezed through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, with hearing answers that pleased Republicans, Democrats and veterans alike. Specifically, Shulkin promised to reform the system without privatizing it.

“There should be no doubt that if confirmed as secretary, I will seek major reform and a transformation of VA,” Shulkin told the committee last week. “There will be far greater accountability, dramatically improved access, responsiveness and expanded care options, but the Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch.”

{mosads}The committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance him to the full Senate. Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) had said during the hearing that he expected Shulkin to be confirmed before the week was through. But with a full slate of controversial nominees that kept senators at the Capitol overnight a couple days this week, Shulkin’s nomination slipped to the coming week.

But now that he’s on the Senate calendar, there should be no delay in confirming him.

Elsewhere, the Senate Armed Services Committee will be taking the long view on defense strategy. The committee has scheduled a closed-door briefing Tuesday with Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work and James Baker, director of the Office of Net Assessment, the independent organization within the Pentagon that studies long-term threats. http://bit.ly/2lx4wFw

The House Armed Services Committee will hear from outside experts on the threat of terrorism and effective counterterrorism strategies at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2118. http://bit.ly/2lsxKt9

A House Foreign Affairs Committee subpanel will hold a hearing on terrorism in Syria with testimony from outside experts at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2172. http://bit.ly/2kumisK

A Senate Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on military families at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Russell Senate Office Building, room 222. http://bit.ly/2lssbeb

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on ending modern slavery at 10 a.m. at the Senate Dirksen Office Building, room 419. Witnesses include actor Ashton Kutcher, who is also a co-founder of an organization that fights child sexual exploitation. http://bit.ly/2lxa7M0

A House Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on the F-35 fighter jet program at 9 a.m. Thursday at Rayburn 2212. http://bit.ly/2lx9guM

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hear from outside experts for its hearing titled “Iran on Notice” at 10 a.m. Thursday at Rayburn 2172. http://bit.ly/2kPWloG

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