CNN's Chris Cuomo is really not buying Corey Lewandowski's argument for tapping Trump's doctor for VA secretary
CNN's Chris Cuomo clashed with Corey Lewandowski on Thursday over President Trump's decision to hire the White House physician to replace Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. Cuomo expressed particular concern that the successor, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, has no management experience "that we know of," despite being tapped to head "the second biggest department in the federal government."
Lewandowski did not share Cuomo's concern. "If we want someone who understands the problems that veterans face," he said, "who better than an active duty military officer … ?"
Cuomo replied: "Part of the answer to that question would be: someone who's managed something before."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lewandowski disagreed. "If you look back and you look at the previous VA secretaries, those who have supposedly had management experience who have come in, we've seen disasters under their regimes."
But Cuomo couldn't get on board with that logic. "It doesn't mean that having management experience is a negative ... You can't argue that 'well we've seen it in the past that management led to bad outcomes so we don't want someone with management experience,'" he insisted. "That's silly." Watch the full debate below. Jeva Lange
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Syria’s Islamic State problemIn The Spotlight Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
-
Quiz of The Week: 17 – 23 JanuaryQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: What can we learn from a tool-wielding cow?Podcast Plus, have we reached ‘peak billionaire’? When should troops disobey their superiors?
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
