Trump: Fayetteville's Wilkie will be VA nominee

President Donald Trump surprised many on Friday by announcing Robert Wilkie as his nominee to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs, including Wilkie.

According to reports, Wilkie, a Fayetteville native, appeared to not know the announcement was coming. Wilkie has been acting VA secretary since late March.

Trump made his remarks at the White House Prison Reform Summit, as he introduced other members of his cabinet.

“Acting Secretary Wilkie, who, by the way, has done an incredible job at the VA, and I’ll be informing him in a little while — 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.

“I’m sorry that I ruined the surprise,” he added.

Wilkie has been serving as acting VA secretary while also serving in the Department of Defense as undersecretary for personnel and readiness. It’s unclear who will assume his DOD role if confirmed to lead the VA.

Wilkie replaced the previous VA secretary, David Shulkin, whose embattled tenure included a controversy over travel expenses and ongoing concerns over access to VA care. Shulkin became VA secretary in February 2017 and had previously served as undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for health from 2015 until 2017 during the administration of President Barack Obama.

Wilkie’s nomination has been in stark contrast to that of Trump’s previous pick to replace Shulkin as the head of the nation’s second-largest government agency, charged with caring for 9 million veterans and more than 1,700 government-run healthcare facilities.

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician, had his credentials questioned when nominated earlier this year. Jackson eventually removed himself from consideration after congressional leaders questioned several allegations of misconduct and mismanagement.

Following Trump’s announcement on Wilkie, several members of Congress praised the selection.

Rep. Phil Roe, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said Wilkie has been accessible and knowledgeable since stepping in for Shulkin and has been instrumental in moving legislation through the House.

“While the Senate is responsible for the confirmation process, I commend President Trump for this selection and believe Acting Secretary Wilkie would be an effective permanent secretary,” Roe said.

Rep. Richard Hudson, a North Carolina Republican who represents Fort Bragg and other parts of the state, congratulated Wilkie on his selection.

“Robert truly has a heart for veterans. That coupled with his deep understanding of what management and policy changes need to be made to clean up the VA is what we need to keep our promises to veterans,” Hudson said in a statement released by his office. “As Representative of a proud veteran population, I look forward to continuing to work with Robert to ensure veterans have timely access to quality care — both within the VA and in our community.”

Prior to joining the Department of Defense last year, Wilkie served as senior advisor to Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, and held numerous roles during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Tillis, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, welcomed the news on Friday.

“I’m proud to call Robert Wilkie my friend and former senior adviser. Robert is one of the most honorable and decent human beings I’ve ever worked with, and anyone who knows him has seen his drive to serve his country and his passion for honoring our nation’s veterans and servicemembers, qualities that will be tremendous assets at the VA,” the senator said.

“Through his many years of distinguished service as a leader in both the executive and legislative branches, Robert has earned the respect of the Republicans and Democrats alike on Capitol Hill,” Tillis added. “Robert will be a great VA Secretary, and I look forward to getting him confirmed.”

Wilkie grew up outside Fort Bragg as the son of an Army officer and still calls Fayetteville home. As undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, he has oversight over much of the U.S. military’s operations, to include personnel, training, health care and compensation.

He was assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs during the Bush administration and served as senior director of the National Security Council under Condoleeza Rice. He has also worked as counsel for the late Sen. Jesse Helms and as advisor and counsel for former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

In Fayetteville, Wilkie attended Reid Ross High School and Alexander Graham Junior High. He is married to the former Julia Bullard, whose family owned and operated the Haymount Market for 40 years. The couple have two children, Adam and Megan.

Wilkie’s nomination received mixed reviews from veterans groups.

AMVETS praised the choice, with executive director Joe Chenelly stating that Wilkie has earned the confidence of the organization.

“Robert Wilkie has clearly been working hard to learn the many extremely complicated and most pressing issues facing veterans right now,” Chenelly said. “We’re looking forward to a thorough but hopefully speedy confirmation process.”

But another organization, VoteVets.org, said they believe Trump is violating federal law by having Wilkie serve as interim VA secretary while being nominated for the job.

The progressive veterans organization and Democracy Forward, a nonprofit legal organization, previously filed a lawsuit over Wilkie’s role as acting VA secretary.

“It is abundantly clear that Robert Wilkie cannot be nominated to be VA Secretary, while serving as Acting Secretary,” said Will Fischer, director of government relations for VoteVets. “Once again, this president just made a spur-of-the-moment decision on veterans care, without any consideration, without any thought, and clearly without the usual process, which would have caught this issue with the law.”