David Shulkin: “Having the providers in place is hugely important.”

This is a tough job for anybody to do. What the successful secretary needs to do is to build a team around them because this is bigger than any one person, and to work very collaboratively with veteran service organizations and Congress.

I received a phone call saying that the President wanted to make a change, and that's certainly his prerogative to do that, and that's what happened.

I believe strongly, Anderson, that when it comes to V.A. and national security, we can't make this a political issue.

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.