David Shulkin insisted Sunday he was fired from his post as Veterans Affairs secretary and did not voluntarily resign, contradicting a recent statement from the White House.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, Mr. Shulkin said flatly that he was not willing to step down.
“I came to run the Department of Veterans Affairs because I’m committed to veterans,” he said. “I would not resign because I’m committed to making sure this job was seen through to the very end. I did not resign.”
A White House spokesperson over the weekend told Politico that the former secretary had “resigned.”
President Trump last week announced via Twitter that his White House physician, Adm. Ronny Jackson, would take Mr. Shulkin’s place.
Mr. Shulkin did not blame Mr. Trump for his firing, but said that an internal power struggle at the VA created an untenable situation.
“Some political appointees felt that we needed to be much more aggressive than I was willing to be [in reforming the department], so they saw me as an obstacle,” he said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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