Trump Considers Rick Perry For VA Secretary

Multiple news outlets have indicated that President Donald Trump is considering naming former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary.

This would be a lateral Cabinet move for Perry, who is the current Secretary of the Department of Energy. Perry is an Air Force veteran and Texas A&M graduate who, for years, expressed his interest in veterans' causes.

The current VA secretary is David Shulkin, who lately has come under scrutiny for taking a taxpayer-funded trip to Europe last year.

Perry was one of Trump's fiercest critics in the race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. The relationship must be on good terms if Perry is still in the Cabinet and being sought to move to another position.

The news of perry's possible move to VA Secretary came the same day as Trump shook up the cabinet by firing then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, according to the New York Times report.

Image: Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump's choice as Secretary of Energy, is sworn in during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Capitol Hill January 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. Perry is expected to face questions about his connections to the oil and gas industry. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)