Veterans
McDonald confirmation as VA secretary is delayed
Stars and Stripes
July 24, 2014
Secretary of Veterans Affairs nominee Robert McDonald raises his right hand to swear an oath before testifying before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee confirmation hearing, on July 22, 2014. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
The vote to confirm Robert McDonald as the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs is no longer on the Senate’s schedule for Thursday.
The vote was set for Thursday afternoon, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told journalists earlier in the day.
But word circulated on the Hill later Thursday that it wouldn’t happen.
McDonald got a warm reception from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle Tuesday during an initial confirmation hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday morning, committee members voted 14-0 to send the nomination to the full chamber.
McDonald, a West Point graduate who rose to captain in the 101st Airborne before rising to chief executive officer of consumer products giant Procter and Gamble, would follow Gen. Erik Shinseki, who stepped down in May amid reports of record manipulation and falsification and such long wait times that some veterans died waiting for care, though it’s not clear the delays caused their deaths.