Staff Reports
President Donald Trump is meeting with former Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller this week to talk about the open position running the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The upcoming meeting was reported by the Washington Examiner’s Gabby Morrongiello, who said she received the tip from a senior official at the White House.
Miller, now a lobbyist, represented the Pensacola area in Congress for 16 years, announcing his retirement ahead of the 2016 elections.
From 2011 until he left office, Miller served as the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs committee, where he pushed for the privatization of VA healthcare.
During the 2016 election cycle, Miller was a primary architect of candidate Trump’s 10-point plan to reform the VA. At the top of the plan was the appointment of a VA Secretary “whose sole purpose will be to serve veterans.”
Another facet called for Congress to pass legislation empowering the VA Secretary to “discipline or terminate any employee who has jeopardized the health, safety or well-being of a veteran.”
Miller was rumored to be a top pick for the job during Trump’s transition to the White House, but was ultimately passed over in favor of David Shulkin, who had served as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health during the final two years of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Shulkin was dismissed as VA secretary on March 28, and Trump’s initial pick to replace him, White House physician Ronny Jackson, has since withdrawn his as VA secretary in the wake of scandals alleging improper conduct in his current role.
