Second Trump Administration – Department of Veterans Affairs

Nominations and Appointments

As of April 2026, Doug Collins was serving as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Prior to this role, Collins represented Georgia’s 9th Congressional district as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, where he served as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. Collins has also served in the Georgia state legislature. Collins previously served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and worked as an attorney and pastor in the Baptist Church. ^{1  2}

As of April 2026, Paul R. Lawrence was serving as Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Prior to this role, Lawrence served as Undersecretary for Benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during the first Trump administration. At the time, Lawrence was also a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and had previously served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. ³

As of April 2026, James Baehr was serving as General Counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prior to this role, Baehr was a constitutional litigator and a founder of the Pelican Center for Justice at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy and had also served as a Special Assistant to the President in the Domestic Policy Council in the White House. As of 2026, Baehr was also serving as a Major in the Marine Corps Reserves as the Reserve Regional Defense Counsel, East Coast. ⁴

As of April 2026, Richard Topping was serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to this role, Topping worked as chief legal officer for the health-care company CareSource and had also worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) representing the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Topping had also served as an infantry officer and later as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in the U.S. Army. ⁵

As of April 2026, John J. Bartrum was serving as Undersecretary for Health. Prior to this role, Bartrum served as a Major General and Mobilization Assistant to the Surgeon General of the Air Force and had also served as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Bartrum had previously been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for Enterprise Integration but was withdrawn from consideration for that position on June 2, 2025. ⁶

As of April 2026, Samuel “Sam” Brown was serving as Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs. Prior to this role, Brown served as a Senior Advisor to Secretary Collins and founded and became the CEO of Palisade Strategies, a veterans health-care company. Brown previously served as a U.S. Army officer before suffering career-ending injuries in Afghanistan in 2008 and was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada’s 2024 U.S. Senate election. ^{7  8  9}

As of April 2026, Donald Bergin was serving as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs. Prior to this role, Bergin served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and previously served as National Security Counsel to the Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), and as National Security Counsel to both Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). Bergin also previously served in the United States Marine Corps. ¹⁰

As of April 2026, Cheryl Mason was serving as Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prior to this role, Mason served as Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals from 2017 to 2022. She had previously been nominated to lead the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection but was withdrawn from consideration for that role on May 6, 2025. ¹¹

Gary Shatswell had been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology but had not been confirmed as of April 28, 2026. Two previous nominees for the position, Ryan Cote and Alan Boehme, were withdrawn from consideration on July 17, 2025, and June 30, 2025, respectively. ¹²

Karen Brazell was nominated to serve as Undersecretary for Benefits but was withdrawn from consideration on October 8, 2025. As of April 28, 2026, no nominee had been confirmed for the position. ¹²

Terrence Gorman was nominated to serve as Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals but was withdrawn from consideration on September 3, 2025. As of April 28, 2026, no nominee had been confirmed for the position. ¹²

Michael Joseph Missal previously served as Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) but was removed from the position on January 24, 2025. As of April 28, 2026, no nominee had been confirmed for the position. ¹³