Editorial Board
Veterans Deserve Reforms, Not Politics
Secretary David Shulkin was pushed out, but his initiatives should live on.
Looking for a few good doctors.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty ImagesThe firing of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin may seem like just another in the recent spate of executive-branch departures. But for his efforts to reform a vast bureaucracy and to better serve America's 20 million veterans, Shulkin will be sorely missed.
He may have himself to blame for a host of alleged ethical violations, although Shulkin contends he has been falsely accused by Washington partisans and veterans' groups opposed to his reform efforts. What's clear is that many of those efforts have been sensible and courageous. The next VA leader -- Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, has been tabbed -- should push ahead on the same track.