VA Nominee Says System Is ‘Worth Saving,’ Promises Not To Privatize Veterans’ Health Care
David J. Shulkin, the sole hold over from the Obama administration, faced the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday and is expected to be approved by the full Senate.
The New York Times:
Veterans Affairs Nominee Vows Not To Privatize Health Care
President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, David J. Shulkin, vowed at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to reform — but not privatize — veterans’ health care, potentially putting him at odds with Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to allow all veterans to choose private health care. “V.A. is a unique national resource that is worth saving,” Dr. Shulkin told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He added, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch.” (Philipps, 2/1)
And in other news on the president's nominees —
Reuters:
U.S. Senate Panel Suspends Rules, Backs Price, Mnuchin For Cabinet
Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee suspended committee rules and confirmed U.S. Representative Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services and banker Steven Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary Wednesday on a straight party line vote, sending the nominations to the Senate floor. Under pressure from their political base to block President Donald Trump's nominees, Democrats stayed away from the meeting for a second day running. This normally would have stopped action, but Republicans plowed ahead by voting to suspend the rule that required at least one Democrat to be present for business to be conducted. (Cornwell, 2/1)
The Associated Press:
Backers Of Right To Die Fear Trump Supreme Court Nominee
Supporters of a terminally ill person’s right to take his or her own life said Wednesday they are alarmed by President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court and worry that Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation could mean a renewed battle over the legality of laws permitting the practice. Gorsuch, a Denver-based judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote a 2006 book titled “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia” that included an extensive discussion of Oregon’s law, which allows doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients to have less than six months to live and who request it. (Flaccus, 2/1)
The Associated Press:
Gorsuch Case Review Shows He's No Crusader On Abortion
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to appoint a crusading anti-abortion Supreme Court justice who'd work to overturn the Roe v. Wade opinion that legalized it. However, an Associated Press review of decisions and writings by Neil Gorsuch during a decade as a federal appeals court judge in Denver turns up no guarantees on how he might rule on that hot-button issue. (Neumeister, Burke and Weiss, 2/1)