Senate unanimously confirms David Shulkin as veterans affairs secretary

David Shulkin.
(Image credit: Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images)

David Shulkin was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday night to become the next secretary of veterans affairs.

Shulkin has been the VA undersecretary for health since July 2015, and was President Trump's only holdover from the Obama administration. He promised during his confirmation hearing that he will lead a "major reform and transformation of the VA." Shulkin also said there will be "far greater accountability, dramatically improved access and responsiveness, and expanded care options, but the Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.