“I came to Washington with the commitment to make our system work better for veterans. ... There was no reason why I would resign,” former VA head David Shulkin said in an interview on Monday, adding that he was fired as a result of the president’s tweet last week announcing his replacement. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo White House appears to shift explanation on whether Shulkin resigned or was fired

The White House appears to be shifting its explanation about the departure of former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, now saying he was offered “the opportunity to resign” after previously saying that he “resigned from his position.”

The changing narrative comes as Shulkin has refused to go quietly, saying he was fired and accusing the White House of politically knifing him.


“I came to Washington with the commitment to make our system work better for veterans. That’s the commitment that I went to work every day. I continue to feel strongly about that. There was no reason why I would resign,” Shulkin said in an interview on CNN on Monday, adding that he was fired as a result of President Donald Trump’s tweet last week announcing his replacement.

The dispute raises the stakes in an obscure, but potentially consequential debate over Trump’s ability to appoint Shulkin’s replacement. Trump bypassed Shulkin’s deputy when naming his interim successor, which potentially ran afoul of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. That law gives the president broad authority to temporarily fill a vacancy at a federal agency with an acting official only if the current office holder “dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office.”

On Friday, White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement, “Secretary Shulkin resigned from his position as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

But on Monday, White House director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp said during an interview on Fox News that White House chief of staff John Kelly gave Shulkin an “opportunity to resign” from the job.

“General Kelly called Secretary Shulkin and gave him the opportunity to resign. Obviously the key here is is that the president has made a decision,” Schlapp said. “He wanted a change in the Department of Veterans Affairs. He felt it was time.”

Schlapp was then pressed by Fox News reporter Abby Huntsman, who said, “So he didn't resign. So we can clear that up. It was more of a decision made by the president. He knew a change needed to be made, and he made that change.”

Schlapp replied, “It was as I said, Gen. Kelly offered him the opportunity to resign. At this point, the president said it was time to move on in terms of Veterans Affairs. He thanks Secretary Shulkin for his service.”

A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment about the apparent discrepancy.

Shulkin and the White House had been at odds for months over whether to move toward wider privatization of veterans’ health care — a move Shulkin opposed. He also got in hot water over a VA inspector general report that accused Shulkin and his wife of improperly accepting Wimbledon tickets and using staff to arrange sightseeing visits during a business trip to Denmark and England last summer.

Shulkin has since made a series of media appearances, saying the White House did not allow him to defend himself and treated him unfairly. He also is now stating that he did not and would not have resigned.

The back-and-forth stemmed from a Saturday POLITICO story detailing the potential complications of Trump’s decision to appoint Defense Department official Robert Wilkie as the acting leader of the department, bypassing Shulkin’s deputy, who also has a rocky relationship with the White House.

Some legal experts note that the Vacancies Act does not explicitly grant the president authority to hand-pick replacements in the case of firings.

That could make Trump’s decision to appoint Wilkie, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, as acting VA secretary a potential test of the president’s authorities under the act. And it could lead to potential legal challenges if Wilkie stays on as acting secretary for an extended period of time while the Senate considers Trump’s nominee to permanently hold the position, White House physician Ronny Jackson.

Louis Nelson contributed to this report.