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President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, David J. Shulkin, vowed at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to reform — but not privatize — veterans’ health care, potentially putting him at odds with Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to allow all veterans to choose private health care. “V.A. is a unique national resource that is worth saving,” Dr. Shulkin told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He added, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch.” (Philipps, 2/1)

At his confirmation hearing Wednesday, Shulkin said “there should be no doubt” that he will seek “major reform and transformation of the VA.” Shulkin, as the only Obama appointee among Trump’s Cabinet nominees, is walking something of a tightrope, outlining what he will do differently under Trump, while at the same time assuaging the fears of Democrats and some veterans' groups that VA services will be privatized. (Slack, 2/1)

His opposition to turning over vast parts of the system to private doctors and approach seeking gradual changes at an agency still reeling from a 2014 scandal over patient wait times puts Shulkin at odds with Trump advisers and some Republican lawmakers who are pressing for more drastic reform, particularly more private care. But Shulkin, now serving as VA undersecretary in charge of the veterans’ health system, is likely headed for swift confirmation by the Senate, say Republican and Democratic aides. (Rein, 2/1)

Republicans questioned whether Shulkin, who was confirmed as VA under secretary for health during President Barack Obama’s tenure, is committed to the VA shakeup that Trump promised on the campaign trail. “How can you assure veterans . . . that some of the big focuses that President Trump has talked about, of really shaking up the VA, [will occur] on your watch, when to be honest, you’ve been part of the outgoing administration?” asked Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. But Shulkin said that, as both a doctor and a health care executive, he's committed to a drastic overhaul of the agency. (Mejdrich, 2/1)

The hourslong hearing was strikingly civil, in contrast with other confirmation proceedings in recent days in which Democrats have boycotted procedures and lawmakers have slung insults at their colleagues across the aisle. Veterans’ issues are the “one thing that’s kept us bipartisan,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) as he walked from the hearing. (Kesling, 2/1)