Ronny Jackson nominated to lead VA

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Brig. Gen. Dr. Richard Tubb, who trained Jackson, said in a letter read at Jackson’s briefing that the doctor had been attached like “Velcro” to Trump since Inauguration Day.

“On any given day,” he wrote, “the ‘physician’s office,’ as it is known, is generally the first and last to see the President.”

A White House official said Shulkin was informed of his dismissal by chief of staff John Kelly before the president announced the move on Twitter on Wednesday.

A major veterans’ organization expressed concern over Shulkin’s dismissal and Trump’s intention to nominate Jackson, whom they worried lacked experience to run the huge department.

“We are disappointed and already quite concerned about this nominee,” said Joe Chenelly, the national executive director of AMVETS. “The administration needs to be ready to prove that he’s qualified to run such a massive agency, a $200 billion bureaucracy.”

Rep. Phil Roe, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he believed Shulkin did a “fantastic job” and didn’t think he should have been dismissed, but “at the end of the day, Cabinet secretaries serve at the pleasure of the president.”