VA chief of staff retires over report of ethical violations
March 03, 2018
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently saw yet another personnel shakeup amid internal strife. VA Secretary David Shulkin’s chief of staff resigned following accusations of ethical violations. The inspector general released a report that found she misled an ethics lawyer in order to get permission for Shulkin’s wife to join him on his taxpayer-funded Europe trip last year.
Vivieca Wright Simpson was the department’s third most senior official. She announced her retirement in the aftermath of the report’s release. Wright Simpson stepped down after 32 years at the VA, including two years as the secretary’s senior-most aide.
VA Inspector General Michael Missal issued recommendations for disciplining Wright Simpson over “serious derelictions” linked to Shulkin’s 10-day trip to London and Copenhagen in 2017. The report said she deceived an ethics official in an effort to get approval for the use of taxpayer money for Shulkin’s wife’s flight. To get the green light, she claimed Shulkin was receiving an award or recognition in an email to the official.
Wright Simpson has been replaced by Peter O’Rourke as the permanent chief of staff. O’Rourke was previously the head of the VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.
Shulkin apologized for the errors that he and other VA personnel made in organizing the trip. The secretary also paid back the government for his wife’s flight expenses.