White House: Trump has confidence in Shulkin ‘at this point in time’

President Donald Trump has confidence in David Shulkin “at this point in time” despite reports that the Veterans Affairs secretary may be fired as early as this week, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said on Monday.

“We all serve at the pleasure of the president. If he is not pleased, you‘ll know it,” Gidley said in an interview on Fox News. “At this point in time though, he does have confidence in Dr. Shulkin. He is a secretary and he has done some great things at the VA. As you know, the president wants to put the right people in the right place at the right time and that could change.“


Shulkin has reportedly been viewed negatively after being accused of excessive spending on travel and for saying he has been given the blessing of the White House to purge VA staffers he accused of “subversion,” though he's been given no such approval.

When pressed about reports on Monday that Trump would like to fire Shulkin but doesn’t have a replacement, Gidley said, “When the president wants to make a change, he will make it.“

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“He doesn't have to try, he doesn't have to guess. He has the power to do so whether he has a replacement or not, he can still make a change,” he said. “The president wants to put the best people around him to execute his policy.“

White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah on Monday afternoon declined to discuss Shulkin's future, saying there will be “no personnel announcements” when he was asked about the secretary at the White House press briefing.

“I haven't asked the president about it today. I don't want to comment on it too specifically,” Shah said.

