Trump picks his doctor as new Veterans chief

President Donald Trump has announced that he will replace his Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin with Ronny Jackson, who currently serves as his physician.

Trump thanked Shulkin via Twitter for his “service to our country and to our GREAT VETERANS” and said Robert Wilkie, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, will serve as acting secretary until Jackson is confirmed.

A White House official said the embattled Shulkin was no longer effective in his role, saying his “distractions were getting in the way of carrying out the President’s agenda.”

Shulkin is the second member of Trump’s Cabinet to be ousted this month, following Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

A handful of senior White House officials have also resigned or been fired over the last two months, fueling chaos and uncertainty inside the West Wing.

Jackson, who is an active duty Navy physician, was nominated last week for a military promotion by the President.

He was appointed as physician to the president by President Barack Obama in 2013, after having served on the White House medical team since 2006. He continued in that role after Trump came into office and quickly developed a bond with the President.

“He’s like central casting — like a Hollywood star,” Trump told donors during a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago last month, according to audio of his remarks obtained by CNN.

Jackson took on an unusually public role for a presidential physician earlier this year when he took to the White House briefing room to field questions about Trump’s health, just days after questions about Trump’s mental fitness for office were raised.