Nikki Wentling

Nikki Wentling covers veterans for Stars and Stripes and is based in Washington, D.C. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor of science in news and information.

Wentling previously covered local government for the Lawrence Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan. and military and veterans for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock, Ark.

Email: wentling.nikki@stripes.com | Phone: (202) 761-0865 | Twitter: @nikkiwentling

Biden taps NCAA executive Donald Remy for No. 2 spot at VA

President Joe Biden intends to nominate Donald Remy for the No. 2 position in the Department of Veterans Affairs, the White House announced Friday.

Then-White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, now President Joe Biden's pick to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, at a Medal of Honor ceremony in 2014.<br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

VA secretary says proposed budget increase largely due to community care

When questioned about the budget increase Thursday, Denis McDonough cited the cost of the VA Mission Act, a bipartisan measure approved in 2018 to expand veterans’ access to private doctors.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough attends an event at Fort Harrison in Helena, Mont., on April 7, 2021. McDonough on Wednesday, April 14, led hundreds of employees in a pledge against domestic violence and sexual harassment and assault.<br>Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP

White Ribbon campaign

VA secretary pledges zero tolerance for sexual harassment, assault

The pledge was part of the White Ribbon campaign, a worldwide movement that asks men and boys to help end gender-based violence and promote gender equity.

Comedian Jon Stewart speaks in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, as advocates lobby for legislation that would provide benefits to military veterans who have been exposed to toxins from burn pits used at overseas locations.<br>Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes

Jon Stewart leads rally for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits

Comedian Jon Stewart became a fierce advocate for 9/11 responders who developed illnesses after working at the World Trade Center site. He recently turned his attention to veterans suffering from diseases caused by similar toxic exposure.

Biden proposes $8.5 billion increase for VA in 2022 budget

President Joe Biden is proposing an $8.5 billion boost for the Department of Veterans Affairs under his 2022 budget plan released Friday.

First Lady Jill Biden participates in a tour and greets children March 10, 2021, at the Child Development Center at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.<br>Kevin Lowery/White House

First lady sets priorities for relaunched initiative to help military families

First Lady Jill Biden plans to focus on the education, employment, entrepreneurship, health and well-being of military and veteran families as part of her relaunched Joining Forces initiative, she announced Wednesday.

Laureen Crews, a U.S. Army veteran, was the 10,000th veteran to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital in Missouri.<br>VA

Vaccine refusal rate at 3% among veterans, slightly higher in rural areas

About 3% of veterans have refused coronavirus vaccines when offered them by the Department of Veterans Affairs – an amount lower than the agency anticipated, a VA official said Thursday.

Marine Corps Col. Morgan Mann, the former commander of the 25th Marine Regiment, was removed from his position Oct. 4, 2017. Mann says "there was no explanation." After more than three years of fighting the decision, Mann won his appeal in March 2021.<br>

Fired Marine Corps commander, absolved of wrongdoing, still fights to clear his name

Despite having completed three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the most shocking part of retired Col. Morgan Mann’s 30-year Marine Corps career was the moment it ended – with a single, unexpected phone call.

An equipment manager with the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, tosses unserviceable uniform items into a burn pit in Iraq in 2008.<br>U.S. Air Force

Lawmakers reintroduce bill, plan a push for veterans exposed to burn pits

Under the new bill, veterans would need to prove only that they deployed to parts of the Middle East, southwest Asia and Africa since 1990 and suffer from a condition associated with toxic exposure.

Essential workers in phase 1b of the U.S. military's coronavirus vaccination plan include Department of Defense Education Activity teachers, child and youth service workers, school support staff, shipyard workers, commissary staff and food service workers. <br>Yosselin Perla/U.S. Air Force

VA will start vaccinating veterans, spouses and caregivers May 1

The Saves Lives Act grew the population that the VA is responsible for vaccinating from about 9 million to 33 million. The department will need an increase of about 400,000 doses each week to vaccinate everyone.

Pharmacists CJ Ludwig, front, and Chris Elizagaray, back, pull doses of the coronavirus vaccine from vials at a Department of Veterans Affairs vaccination clinic on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. <br>NIKKI WENTLING/STARS AND STRIPES

Under new law, VA must offer vaccines to 24 million more people

The Saves Lives Act removes legal barriers that prevented the VA from vaccinating veterans who aren’t enrolled in the department, as well as their spouses and caregivers.

VA scrambles to schedule backlogged compensation and pension exams

Hundreds of thousands of veterans are waiting for their earned benefits because of a backlog of compensation and pension exam requests that grew during the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.<br>Michael Ciaglo, Getty Images/TNS

Congress passes bill to allow VA to vaccinate all vets, spouses, caregivers

Congress approved a bill Friday that makes all veterans, as well as their spouses and caregivers, eligible for a coronavirus vaccine through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In a February 26, 2020 photo, homeless Army veteran Bobbie King makes his way to his volunteer position at the Nova Project in Detroit.<br>Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press/TNS

Veteran homelessness increased from 2019 to 2020, according to new HUD report

On a single night in January 2020, 37,252 veterans were experiencing homelessness — an increase of 167 veterans, or 0.4%, from January 2019, according to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report released Thursday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In a January 2, 2021 photo, a William Beaumont Army Medical Center soldier prepares a syringe with the Pfizer vaccine at Stayton Theater.<br>U.S. Army

Senate passes bill allowing VA to vaccinate all veterans, spouses

The Department of Veterans Affairs is currently vaccinating only employees and veterans enrolled in VA health care, as well as some veteran caregivers.

About 33% of male Special Forces service members who participated in a recent study said they would be willing to share a unisex bathroom with women, while 61% of female Special Forces service members said they would be willing to share a unisex bathroom with men.<br>Ted Eytan/Creative Commons

Study: Male troops more reluctant to share unisex bathrooms than women

The study found that there is still resistance of women integrating into Special Forces positions. Bathrooms were often cited as a reason male service members were against the integration.

U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen march into Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., before a football game in October, 2019.<br>Stars and Stripes

Lawmakers nominate a disproportionately high number of white students to service academies

Members of Congress nominate white students to military service academies at disproportionately high rates, leading to an underrepresentation of minorities there and among the military’s pool of general officers.

The headquarters building of the Department of Veterans Affairs as seen on June 28, 2018, in Washington, D.C.<br>Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes

Congress approves $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, with $17 billion for the VA

About $14.5 billion goes toward vaccine distribution, veterans’ health care, mental health care, staffing, suicide prevention, research and women’s health, as well as expanding telehealth, serving homeless veterans and stocking personal protective equipment.

A vial of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine is surrounded by syringes at the Department of Veterans Affairs vaccination clinic in Kalispell, Montana, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.<br>NIKKI WENTLING/STARS AND STRIPES

House passes bill requiring VA to offer COVID vaccine to more veterans, caregivers

The House has unanimously approved legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer coronavirus vaccines to all veterans, regardless of whether they’re enrolled in VA health care.

Advocates seek to secure and expand fertility services for veterans

Advocates pushed members of Congress on Tuesday to expand and make permanent a federal program to help veterans conceive through in vitro fertilization.

Senators push VA to vaccinate all veterans, spouses, caregivers

An effort is underway in Congress to mandate the Department of Veterans Affairs to vaccinate all U.S. veterans against the coronavirus, as well as their spouses and caregivers.

Vietnam War veteran Ben Bruso, 77, throws his fists up in celebration before receiving his second dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The Department of Veterans Affairs vaccinated 529 veterans at the event, which was held at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell, Montana. <br>Nikki Wentling/Stars and Stripes

'As rural as you can get': Montana VA flies coronavirus vaccine to eager veterans

An early-morning delivery by charter plane of 52 vials of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine to Kalispell, Montana, was part of a vaccination program started by the VA to inoculate veterans in highly rural places. On Tuesday, the Montana VA Health Care System vaccinated 529 veterans there, most over age 75.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs nominee Denis McDonough speaks during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.<br>Sarah Silbiger/Pool

McDonough urges Senate to pass coronavirus relief aid for VA

The bill, titled the American Rescue Plan, totals $1.9 trillion and includes billions in relief aid for the VA. The VA secretary said the money was needed to treat veterans who have put off health care visits during the pandemic.

In a Feb. 4, 2021 photo, pharmacist Tara Hubbard delivers a COVID-19 vaccination to Alric Johnson, an Army veteran and resident at The Retreat, a Community Renewal Team assisted-living facility in Connecticut.<br>Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant

VA seeing no difference in coronavirus vaccine reluctance based on race

Black veterans who are eligible for coronavirus vaccines are accepting them at rates similar to veterans of other races, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

A U.S. Huey helicopter sprays Agent Orange over Vietnam.<br>U.S. Army

Senators urge VA to add hypertension to list of illnesses caused by Agent Orange

Vietnam War veterans have been waiting years for the VA to recognize a link between hypertension and exposure to chemical herbicides during the war.

State veterans’ homes are required to report coronavirus data, but not all comply

Most state-run veterans homes publicly shared data about coronavirus cases and deaths for the first time this month, but not all are complying to the new law.

In a Jan. 27, 2021 photo, Secretary of Veterans Affairs nominee Denis McDonough listens during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on Capitol Hill.<br>Sarah Silbiger/Pool

VA secretary orders review of policies to root out barriers for LGBTQ veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs will review its policies and determine how to make the agency a more welcoming and inclusive place for LGBTQ veterans and employees.

Richard Stone, left, the VA acting undersecretary for health, urged Congress on Friday to approve President Joe Biden’s proposal for about $15 billion in coronavirus relief aid for the agency. But Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., right, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said last week's action by that panel to advance the bill was “reckless” and “irresponsible.”<br>Stars and Stripes file photos

VA officials urge Congress to approve coronavirus relief funding

Department of Veterans Affairs officials urged Congress on Friday to approve President Joe Biden’s proposal for about $15 billion in coronavirus relief aid for the agency.

VA enrolls veterans 'on the spot' in areas where eligible patients have refused vaccines

The Department of Veterans Affairs has immediately enrolled veterans into its health care system in areas where eligible VA patients have refused coronavirus vaccines.

VA pauses debt collections through Sept. 30

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday it would pause debt collections again after billing restarted in January.

Former Sen. Bob Dole at a Senate hearing in January, 2017.<br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

Former Sen. Bob Dole to get treatment for advanced-stage lung cancer

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a World War II veteran, said Thursday he was diagnosed with advanced-stage lung cancer and would begin treatment Monday.

Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of then-Vice President Joe Biden, speaks at a Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership event in Washington, Oct. 17, 2016. On Wednesday, First Lady Jill Biden held a listening session Wednesday as part of her plan to recommit to military families.<br>Lisa Ferdinando/Department of Defense

First lady recommits to helping military children, families

First Lady Jill Biden is renewing her Joining Forces initiative, which she started with former First Lady Michelle Obama in 2011 to help military families with employment and education.

More than 10,000 VA patients, 128 employees have now died of coronavirus

The coronavirus has now killed more than 10,000 Department of Veterans Affairs patients and 128 VA employees, but active cases of the virus were falling across the VA system after peaking last month in what experts called a “second wave” related to the holiday season.

VA extends its ban on evictions and foreclosures to June 30

The extension was made as part of an action by President Joe Biden on Tuesday morning to extend a ban on home foreclosures for federally backed mortgages. The extension includes all properties secured by VA-guaranteed loans.

A Department of Veterans Affairs doctor speaks with a patient in this undated file photo.<br>Department of Veterans Affairs

House VA committee advances $15 billion portion of Biden’s American Rescue Plan

Most of the money allotted to the Department of Veterans Affairs from the American Rescue Plan would be used for veterans’ health care, staffing, suicide prevention, research and women’s health. It allows up to $4 billion to be spent on private-sector health care for veterans.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Denis McDonough bump elbows after McDunough was ceremonially sworn in by Harris as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.<br>Jacquelyn Martin/AP

McDonough is sworn in as VA secretary; calls it the 'honor of my lifetime'

Denis McDonough was sworn in as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday in a ceremony conducted by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs nominee Denis McDonough is sworn in during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington.<br>Sarah Silbiger/Pool

Senate confirms McDonough as VA secretary, 87 to 7

Denis McDonough is the second VA secretary to not receive a unanimous or unopposed confirmation vote in the Senate. Former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie was also not confirmed unanimously.

Past month saw 25% of VA's patient deaths from the pandemic

As of Friday, the virus had killed 9,416 patients -- more than 2,300 who have died since Jan. 7. More than 1,100 VA patients have died in the past two weeks, making it the deadliest two-week period for veterans so far during the pandemic.

The Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C., in December, 2020/<br>Stars and Stripes

Debt collection goes on while VA ‘exploring options’ to reinstate pause

Dat Tran, acting secretary of the VA, said in a statement Monday that the department was “exploring options to pause federal collections on compensation and pension overpayments, and medical and education-related debts.”

VA secretary nominee Denis McDonough moves forward in the confirmation process

If confirmed by the Senate, McDonough will take the helm of the second-largest federal agency, which operates America’s largest health care system.

One of the VA's mobile Vet Centers is set up at Beaumont, Texas, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.<br>VA

VA sends mobile Vet Centers to provide counseling on Capitol Hill

Two mobile Vet Centers will set up near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to provide free mental health services to Capitol Police, lawmakers, congressional staff and National Guard members who need counseling after the Jan. 6 attack in Washington.

Veterans groups ask Congress to double VA's construction budget

Several national veterans’ organizations are urging Congress to give the Department of Veterans Affairs nearly $4 billion in the next federal budget for overdue construction on medical facilities, doubling its current budget for those projects.

Five members of the Maryland National Guard's 1st Bn., 175th Infantry Regiment, reenlist outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 22, 2021. At least 25,000 Guard members, who were authorized to conduct security, logistical and communications missions leading up to and through the 59th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, earned education benefits for the mission, a National Guard leader said Thursday, Jan. 28.<br>Brendan Cassidy/U.S. Army

National Guard mission at Capitol counts toward GI Bill benefits

Thousands of National Guard soldiers who deployed to Washington this month after the deadly mob takeover of the U.S. Capitol earned education benefits for the mission, a National Guard leader clarified Thursday.

Republican senators announce support for Biden’s VA nominee, Denis McDonough

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the Republican leader of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, announced his support Wednesday for Denis McDonough to become the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., right, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., talk to Secretary of Veterans Affairs nominee Denis McDonough before his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.<br>Leigh Vogel/Pool

Top priority for VA secretary nominee is getting veterans through pandemic

Denis McDonough, President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, listed one of his top priorities Wednesday as “getting our veterans through this pandemic.”

In a June 27, 2018. photo, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester, D-Mont., listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill.<br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

Tester takes lead of Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., will take the helm of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday when the committee meets for the first time in the new congressional session.

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed David Shulkin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, talks with Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jon Tester, D-Mont., in Tester's Capitol Hill office, April 17, 2018.<br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

Trump’s former doctor, now in Congress, is assigned to the House Armed Services Committee

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, the previous White House physician for former President Donald Trump, is one of the newest members of the House Armed Services Committee, after his appointment to the committee Monday.

The Presidential motorcade drives through Washington, D.C., during Inauguration Day ceremonies Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.<br>Evan Vucci/AP

Video of National Guard troops in DC shows protocol, not protest

A YouTube video titled “Military turns backs to Joe Biden’s motorcade” drew controversy for showing some National Guard members facing away from President Joe Biden's motorcade the morning of his inauguration.

Korean War veteran Norman Hale, 90 of Vinemont gets his coronavirus vaccine shot from RN Precious Reynolds at the Birmingham VA Medical Center, December 17, 2020.<br>Joe Songer/al.com

Biden administration takes over at VA’s deadliest moment

While Joe Biden was being sworn in as the country’s 46th president, the VA reported another grim milestone: More than 8,000 patients had died of the virus — 1,000 of those deaths occurring in the last 13 days.

Dat Tran, the VA's principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Enterprise Integration, will lead the agency until the Senate confirms President Joe Biden’s nominee for VA secretary.<br>VA

Dat Tran to temporarily lead VA as acting secretary

President Joe Biden on Wednesday named Dat Tran, the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Enterprise Integration, to immediately take the helm of the agency.

Biden names nine members of new VA leadership

President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced new leaders of the Department of Veterans Affairs – the country’s second-largest federal agency.

VA to vaccinate veteran caregivers after policy change

The Department of Veterans Affairs decided this week it would administer coronavirus vaccinations to veteran caregivers — a population that was not included in the agency’s vaccination strategy.

Supporters of President Donald Trump outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020.<br>Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes

National veterans groups plan to purge members found guilty in Capitol attack

Multiple veterans and service members are being investigated for their roles in the mob takeover of the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday, and at least two national veterans organizations want to ensure they’re not on their membership lists.

A service member plays taps during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery during Medal of Honor Day, March 25, 2016.<br>Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes

Biden, joined by Obama, Bush and Clinton, will lay a wreath at Arlington after inauguration

President-elect Joe Biden, accompanied by three former presidents, will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery following his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, at a Capitol Hill hearing in 2019.<br>Stars and Stripes

Wilkie won’t resign as VA secretary after Capitol riot

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie won’t resign in the aftermath of the takeover of the U.S. Capitol building, the agency said Friday.

Funeral folded flag performed at a funeral for veterans with full military honors.<br>Christopher S. Muncy/U.S. Air National Guard

7,000 VA patients have now died of coronavirus

The VA reported 7,099 total deaths Thursday and nearly 16,000 active coronavirus cases. Only seven days into the new year, January is already on pace to be the agency’s deadliest month.

The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020” honors former Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., right, and just-retired Rep. Phil Roe, Tenn., left, seen here before a 2018 hearing.<br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

Sweeping veterans bill becomes law, impacting 'every corner' of the community

President Donald Trump signed a sweeping legislative package Tuesday that aims to help veterans facing a variety of challenges, including homelessness, access to care for women and Native Americans, toxic exposure and the coronavirus.

The Smithsonian's Stories of 2020 web page.<br>Smihsonian

The Smithsonian is searching for military stories from 2020

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is urging Americans to share photos, videos and written stories of 2020 – a historic year that the institution assumes will be of interest to future historians and researchers.

Jupiter Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Pam Canter, Jupiter, injects nurse Ann Marie Cole with the COVID-19 vaccine at the campus in Jupiter, Fla., on Wednesday, December 23, 2020.<br>THOMAS CORDY/THE PALM BEACH POST

US has administered only 2 million coronavirus vaccine doses; officials acknowledge lagging pace

More than two million Americans have received their first doses of coronavirus vaccines, but officials acknowledged Wednesday that the number fell short of expectations.

Human remains found on Joint Base San Antonio

The base said there is no danger to the base or the community, and there are no active missing persons cases at the installation.

A coronavirus vaccination shot is administered at the Birmingham, Ala., VA facility.<br>TNS

December is already the deadliest month of the pandemic for VA patients

The coronavirus has killed more than 1,000 veterans so far in December, making it the deadliest month for Department of Veterans Affairs patients with nine days remaining until January.

World War II veteran Lee Elm Creel, 94, of Snow Town, Alabama gets his vaccine from Precious Reynolds, an RN at the Birmingham VA Medical Center in Alabam<br>Joe Songer/al.com

VA to vaccinate patients, staff at 128 additional sites

The Department of Veterans Affairs is readying doses of the Moderna vaccine, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Friday for emergency use.

In an April 9, 2020 photo, a New Jersey Army National Guard combat medic stands ready to direct other medics arriving at the New Jersey Veterans Home at Paramus, N.J., to provide medical support for the residents at the home, which is run by the state's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.<br>Mark C. Olsen/National Guard

State-run veterans’ homes are required to report coronavirus cases, deaths under new bill

State-run veterans’ homes will soon be required to share the number of coronavirus cases and deaths at their facilities with the federal government under a bill passed by Congress this week.

Lawmakers urge VA to continue deferring debt collections; agency says it won’t

Republican and Democratic lawmakers called on the Department of Veterans Affairs this week to continue its nine-month pause on billing veterans for medical debts after the agency announced it would start collections again in January.

Congress passes sweeping end-of-year bill impacting 'every corner' of the veteran community

Congress approved a bill Wednesday that increases resources for homeless veterans, creates a Department of Veterans Affairs advisory committee for Native American veterans and mandates that every VA hospital hire a dedicated women’s health provider, among dozens of other measures.

Dr. Charles Billings, a staff orthopedic surgeon receives the new Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from registered nurse Ayonna Williams at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Medical Center in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.<br>Gerald Herbert/AP

VA releases order of veterans, staff to be vaccinated

The VA is undertaking a plan to distribute vaccines to more than 418,000 employees and 10 million enrolled patients — a task one VA official called a “Herculean effort.”

In a Dec. 2, 2013 photo, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough delivers remarks at a farewell ceremony for outgoing Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon.<br>Daniel Hinton/U.S. Air Force

Biden’s pick for VA secretary vows to 'fight like hell' for veterans

Denis McDonough, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, publicly promised Friday to work as a united team with VA employees and veterans’ service organizations to “fight like hell” for veterans and their families.

VA to restart debt collections after a nine-month pause

VA Press Secretary Christina Noel said veterans will be given an option to make smaller monthly payments on their debt. Veterans facing financial hardship should work with the VA to make special arrangements.

Denis McDonough, 51, at a White House ceremony in 2014, served as deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama and later took the job as Obama’s chief of staff. <br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

Biden chooses Denis McDonough as Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Denis McDonough, 51, served as deputy national security adviser under Obama and later took the job as Obama’s chief of staff. If confirmed, McDonough would become only the second secretary of Veterans Affairs who is not a veteran.

Minority veterans to receive priority for coronavirus vaccines

Black, Hispanic and Native American veterans will be given priority for receiving coronavirus vaccines once they become available, according to a document published Tuesday by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

NDAA would add three conditions to VA list of illnesses caused by Agent Orange

The final version includes a measure that would approve benefits for Vietnam War veterans suffering from bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson’s-like symptoms — conditions thought to be caused by exposure to the chemical herbicide Agent Orange.