Specifically, that would be Veterans Affairs.<\/p>\n
According to the ProPublica report, a small clique of Mar-a-Lago members and Trump pals stand as the unofficial board of directors, making suggestions and calling the shots for our nation\u2019s veterans.<\/p>\n
This is without any experience, either in running a government department, or in our military. Their only \u201cqualification\u201d is in being members of Trump\u2019s golf club.<\/p>\n
The ProPublica piece is stunning.<\/p>\n
Last February, shortly after Peter O\u2019Rourke became chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, he received an email from Bruce Moskowitz with his input on a new mental health initiative for the VA. \u201cReceived,\u201d O\u2019Rourke replied. \u201cI will begin a project plan and develop a timeline for action.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Rourke treated the email as an order, but Moskowitz is not his boss. In fact, he is not even a government official. Moskowitz is a Palm Beach doctor who helps wealthy people obtain high-service \u201cconcierge\u201d medical care.<\/p>\n
More to the point, he is one-third of an informal council that is exerting sweeping influence on the VA from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump\u2019s private club in Palm Beach, Florida. The troika is led by Ike Perlmutter, the reclusive chairman of Marvel Entertainment, who is a longtime acquaintance of President Trump\u2019s. The third member is a lawyer named Marc Sherman. None of them has ever served in the U.S. military or government.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Go back and read those last three paragraphs again.<\/p>\n
When pressed, the three Trumpoteers attempted to wave off any concerns about their involvement in shaping policy for America\u2019s veterans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt all times, we offered our help and advice on a voluntary basis, seeking nothing at all in return,\u201d they said. \u201cWhile we were always willing to share our thoughts, we did not make or implement any type of policy, possess any authority over agency decisions, or direct government officials to take any actions\u2026 To the extent anyone thought our role was anything other than that, we don\u2019t believe it was the result of anything we said or did.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
VA spokesman Curt Cashour likewise downplayed the involvement of these three bored businessmen, looking to play with our vets like toy soldiers. He mentioned the broad range of input, but denied they had any direct influence over policy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the thing about this administration: They say one thing, but there\u2019s always somebody willing to talk, and always documents to back up the reports that emerge.<\/p>\n
But hundreds of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with former administration officials tell a different story \u2014 of a previously unknown triumvirate that hovered over public servants without any transparency, accountability or oversight. The Mar-a-Lago Crowd spoke with VA officials daily, the documents show, reviewing all manner of policy and personnel decisions. They prodded the VA to start new programs, and officials travelled to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense to hear their views. \u201cEveryone has to go down and kiss the ring,\u201d a former administration official said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That certainly sounds like a bit more than simply giving input, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
And why would that input even be necessary? How was this group chosen?<\/p>\n
Rhetorical question. We know this was a Trump-orchestrated move, as he works to keep himself ingratiated with other wealthy businessmen. He\u2019s allowing them to \u201cdabble\u201d in our government, because, as members of his private club, they\u2019re entitled.<\/p>\n
Trump is not an intelligent man, and even his illusion of wealth can be questioned.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also a man with an intensely fragile ego, so he regularly speaks with Perlmutter, getting his input and approval. Whenever Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, reports are that Perlmutter is always nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn any veterans issue, the first person the president calls is Ike,\u201d another former official said. Former administration officials say that VA leaders who were at odds with the Mar-A-Lago crowd were pushed out or passed over. Included, those officials say, were the secretary (whose ethical lapses also played a role), deputy secretary, chief of staff, acting under secretary for health, deputy under secretary for health, chief information officer, and the director of electronic health records modernization.<\/p>\n
At times, Perlmutter, Moskowitz and Sherman have created headaches for VA officials because of their failure to follow government rules and processes. In other cases, they used their influence in ways that could benefit their private interests. They say they never sought or received any financial gain for their advice to the VA.<\/p>\n
The arrangement is without parallel in modern presidential history. The Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 provides a mechanism for agencies to consult panels of outside advisers, but such committees are subject to cost controls, public disclosure and government oversight. Other presidents have relied on\u00a0unofficial<\/a>\u201ckitchen cabinets<\/a>,\u201d but never before have outside advisers been so specifically assigned to one agency. During the transition, Trump handed out advisory roles to\u00a0several<\/a>\u00a0rich<\/a>\u00a0associates<\/a>, but they\u2019ve all since faded away. The Mar-a-Lago Crowd, however, has deepened its involvement in the VA.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It was Perlmutter who suggested David Shulkin to serve as VA secretary.<\/p>\n
Shulkin, according to reports, demurred to Perlmutter, Moskowitz, and Sherman, thanking them for the opportunity to serve.<\/p>\n
It came with a price.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t long before the Mar-a-Lago Crowd wore out their welcome with Shulkin. They advised him on how to do his job even though they sometimes seemed to lack a basic understanding of it. Just after their first meeting, Moskowitz emailed Shulkin again to say, \u201cCongratulations i[t] was unanimous.\u201d Shulkin corrected him: \u201cBruce- this was not the confirmation vote- it was a committee vote- we still need a floor vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perlmutter, Moskowitz and Sherman acted like board members pounding a CEO to turn around a struggling company, a former administration official said. In email after email, officials sought approval from the trio: for an agenda Shulkin was about to present to Trump for a research effort on suicide prevention and for a plan to recruit experts from academic medical centers. \u201cEverything needs to be run by them,\u201d the first former official said, recalling the process. \u201cThey view themselves as making the decisions.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Isn\u2019t playing government fun?<\/p>\n
The report goes on to describe how the trio would pound administration officials with demands to \u201churry up,\u201d and they seemed oblivious to the fact that within a government structure, decisions can\u2019t be implemented on a dime.<\/p>\n
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