David Shulkin

David Shulkin is an American physician who held the office of United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2017 to 2018 under President Donald Trump. Prior to that, he served as Under Secretary for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs during the administration of President Barack Obama. His career has spanned clinical practice, health‑care management, and academic medicine, culminating in a brief but high‑profile tenure in the federal cabinet.

Early life and career

David Jonathon Shulkin was born on July 22, 1959 at Fort Sheridan, a United States Army installation located near Highland Park, Illinois. His parents, Mark Weiss Shulkin and Sonya Lee Shulkin (née Edelman), were Jewish; his father worked as an Army psychiatrist while stationed there. Both of Shulkin’s grandfathers served in World War I.

Shulkin completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Hampshire College in Massachusetts in 1982 before earning a Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Pennsylvania—now part of Drexel University—in 1986. His postgraduate training included an internship at Yale School of Medicine and residency and fellowship work in general medicine at the Presbyterian Medical Center of the University of Pittsburgh. He later served as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.

In private practice, Shulkin focused on health‑care management and patient‑centered care. He held executive positions such as President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, where he reportedly walked wards after midnight to assess quality of night‑shift care. He also served as President of Morristown Medical Center and Vice President of the Atlantic Health System Accountable Care Organization. Earlier in his career, Shulkin was the first Chief Medical Officer at University of Pennsylvania Hospital and later held similar roles within the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Temple University Hospital, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital.

Shulkin’s academic appointments included Chair of Medicine and Vice Dean at Drexel University College of Medicine, as well as a Professorship in Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He contributed to medical literature through editorial work for journals such as the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management and Hospital Physician, and served on editorial boards including that of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In 1999 he founded DoctorQuality, Inc., a consumer‑oriented information service; the company ultimately ceased operations.

Cabinet tenure

In 2015 Shulkin transitioned from private practice to public service when President Obama appointed him Under Secretary for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In that role he emphasized rapid action on pressing issues; for instance, when his staff projected a ten‑month timeline to organize a summit on combat veteran suicides, Shulkin urged completion within one month, noting that delays could cost thousands of lives.

On January 11, 2017, President‑elect Trump nominated Shulkin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The nomination was based on a recommendation by Ambassador David M. Friedman after Trump had considered several other candidates. On February 13, 2017 the United States Senate confirmed Shulkin with unanimous consent (100–0), making him the only cabinet nominee under Trump to receive such a vote at that time. He became the first non‑veteran to hold the secretary position.

As Secretary, Shulkin oversaw the VA’s second‑largest federal agency, which employed more than 350,000 people and operated approximately 1,700 facilities nationwide. His stated goal was to increase reliance on private health care for routine services—such as hearing aids—to allow the department to focus resources on caring for wounded veterans. In February 2017 he served as the designated survivor during President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.

In April 2017 Shulkin directed all VA hospitals and clinics to publicly post quality data and wait‑time information, aiming to improve transparency and accountability. He also announced plans to provide free mental health care for veterans who had received less than honorable discharges. In May 2017 he instructed VA healthcare directors to eliminate in‑house optometry and audiology services, instead contracting those services out to private community providers.

In early July 2017 Shulkin introduced a policy requiring that any settlement with an employee receive approval from the undersecretary, assistant secretary, or an equivalent senior official. The change effectively halted all settlements, a move that drew criticism from legal experts who argued it could increase litigation against the VA and raise costs for taxpayers.

On March 28, 2018 President Trump announced via Twitter that Shulkin had been dismissed from his position. He named Rear Admiral Robert Wilkie as interim Secretary and indicated that Ronny Jackson would be nominated to succeed him; Jackson’s nomination was later withdrawn a month afterward.

Legacy

Shulkin’s tenure is noted for its emphasis on data transparency, quality improvement, and the integration of private sector services into VA care. His initiatives to publicly post wait‑time metrics and clinical outcomes were intended to foster accountability across the agency’s extensive network of facilities. The decision to outsource optometry and audiology services reflected a broader strategy to shift routine procedures to external providers, thereby concentrating VA resources on core missions.

The policy change regarding employee settlements represented a significant administrative shift that altered how the VA handled internal disputes. While critics argued it could increase litigation costs, supporters contended it would promote higher standards of conduct within the agency.

Following his dismissal, Shulkin publicly addressed concerns about political pressure to privatize VA healthcare. He warned that such moves risked prioritizing profit over veteran care and highlighted advocacy from groups like Concerned Veterans of America as influential in shaping the debate.

Overall, David Shulkin’s career reflects a blend of clinical expertise, health‑care management experience, and public service at the highest levels of federal government. His brief period as Secretary of Veterans Affairs was marked by efforts to modernize the department’s operations, increase transparency, and navigate complex policy challenges within the VA system.