A host from Trump's favorite TV show may take the next seat in his Cabinet

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March 15, 2018 8:26 PM

Trump has called reports about looming firings "very exaggerated and false," but previous personal changes have been abrupt.

Criticism of President Donald Trump's Veterans Affairs secretary seems to be coming to a head, while Trump is also considering replacing more members of his inner circle.
The potential turnover could lead to a host from one of Trump's favorite TV shows taking a spot in the president's Cabinet.

President Donald Trump's latest cull of his inner circle may lead to a Cabinet appointment for a host from what is reportedly his favorite TV news show.

Fox News host Pete Hegseth, a high-profile conservative voice on US veterans policy, is a top candidate to take over Veterans Affairs, according to The Washington Post, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.

Trump reportedly considered Hegseth for the VA role following his election, before settling on current secretary David Shulkin. At the time,

Shulkin has faced growing criticism from a segment of his management team at the VA in recent weeks, with one of his senior aides reportedly called for the secretary's ouster in mid-February. Shulkin himself has sought to fire several senior managers and looked for backing from advisers and officials close to Trump.

Shulkin is the only remaining member of the Obama administration's Cabinet. While he has had success under Trump and is liked by the president, rifts within his department have been growing for months, according to The Post.

These divides came to the fore in February, when an inspector-general report criticized Shulkin and his staffers for their conduct around a 10-day business trip to Europe.

Some veterans were so angered by the report that security around Shulkin has had to be increased. Shulkin is reportedly managing the government's second-largest bureaucracy from a heavily guarded bunker at the agency's headquarters in Washington.

Hegseth, an Iraq War veteran who cohosts "Fox & Friends Weekend," espouses a vision of a healthcare system with less government presence and more involvement from the private sector, according to The Post. He has targeted Shulkin and legislators from both parties for their lack of interest in expanding veterans' access to private doctors.

Hegseth previously worked as executive director at Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America, which are conservative advocacy groups funded by billionaire activists Charles and David Koch.

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