Former VA Secretary David Shulkin Versus 'The Politicals'

WAMU 88.5

Published October 24, 2019 at 10:06 AM EDT

U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin testifies during a hearing before the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of House Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing to examine the FY2019 Veterans Affairs Budget request by the Trump Administration.

Like many past and present members of the Trump administration, former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin’s time in Washington was fraught with conflict.

In his new memoir, “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Serve Your Country,” Shulkin recounts clashes with other administration officials, outside Trump advisors, his own security detail and the news media.

Those struggles ended on March 28, 2018, when Trump announced on Twitter that he was nominating his personal physician, Adm. Ronny Jackson, to run the VA. He thanked Shulkin for his service.

We talk with Shulkin about his new memoir, his time in the Trump administration and the VA.

Produced by Paige Osburn.

GUESTS

Dr. David Shulkin, Former director, Department of Veterans Affairs; @DavidShulkin

For more, visit https://the1a.org.