WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday nominated the head of the USO to take over the No. 2 spot in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sloan Gibson, who has served as president of the charity since 2008, replaces departed VA Deputy Secretary Scott Gould, who retired from the post in May.
Gibson is a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who later served as an infantry officer. Following his military career, he spent 20 years in the banking sector, before joining the USO.
In recent years, the deputy secretary post has included managing the day-to-day operations of VA and expanding interagency cooperation with Defense Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor and other federal agencies.
Gibson’s nomination mustbe approved by the Senate. The announcement came amid a flurry of White House nominations for posts just below the Cabinet level.
Others included Jo Ann Rooney, former defense personnel official, to become under secretary of the Navy; Michael Lumpkin, former VA deputy chief of staff, to become assistant defense secretary for special operations and low intensity conflict; and Puneet Talwar, a White House national security staff member, to become assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.
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