David Shulkin: “I mean, one of the biggest concerns we have is the transition between the DoD and the VA.”

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.

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.

The VISN model was put in place close to 20 years ago, a very innovative model that has served VA well.

I wasn't willing to do that. I don't think that's the right thing for veterans and I stood up against them.