Chaos in the Trump administration - Part whatever

He's put people in positions of power in agencies whose sole purpose seems to be to destroy the agency. No difference in Veterans Affairs.

After the VA's inspector general reported that VA Secretary David Shulkin used taxpayer dollars to pay for his wife to go to Europe, the VA secretary has been telling anyone who will listen that Trump appointees in his agency are conspiring to undermine him.

He started handling his own media relations because he doesn't trust the agency's communications staff. And he told Politico the White House gave him the green light to "purge" his agency (a senior White House official told me they did no such thing, and aren't letting Shulkin fire Trump appointees).

[...]

A senior White House official told me it was nonsense that Kelly authorized a purge, and that the White House made that clear to Shulkin when it blocked him from firing Trump appointees John Ullyot and Curt Cashour.

[...]

"A small, little, tiny breeze would push him over the edge," the official said. "If there’s any hint of anything wrong" in the next inspector general's report, "I don’t imagine he hangs on."

The White House has been befuddled by Shulkin's media appearances. Senior officials were especially furious when he told Politico that he had their blessing to clean house.

  Axios

The top watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing a report that is expected to criticize Shulkin over his use of his security detail to run personal errands, The Daily Beast has learned. Three sources familiar with the situation say the forthcoming Inspector General report will likely fuel criticism of Shulkin’s use of official department resources and could further erode his standing in the administration.

[...]

These sources expect the watchdog to release its findings in the next two weeks.

  The Daily Beast

They don't like it when one of theirs gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Trump's got enough trouble having constant reports of his own corrupt behavior.

During that trip, both Shulkin and his wife attended the Wimbledon tennis tournament, claiming (it appears falsely) that they were provided the tickets by a family friend. That report also found that Shulkin’s chief of staff had forged an email, ostensibly showing that Shulkin was slated to receive an award from the Danish government, in order to create a post-facto pretext for his wife’s attendance.

[...]

Shulkin, an Obama-era holdover, is already on thin ice with the White House owing to a separate IG report last month, which found that he improperly expended taxpayer resources so that his wife could join him on a trip to Europe last summer.

Obama appointed him? Oh, well, he's a goner.

During that trip, both Shulkin and his wife attended the Wimbledon tennis tournament, claiming (it appears falsely) that they were provided the tickets by a family friend. That report also found that Shulkin’s chief of staff had forged an email, ostensibly showing that Shulkin was slated to receive an award from the Danish government, in order to create a post-facto pretext for his wife’s attendance.

That's the modern replacement excuse for "I don't recall."

The IG’s office released a letter this week saying there was no evidence of such an electronic intrusion.

Well, these particular hackers are very, very good. They leave no trail.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.