It’s McDonough for @DeptVetAffairs. A stunningly strange and surprising pick. He’s not a vet. And not a post-9/11 vet. And he’s another white guy leading an agency that badly needs a truly transformative leader that can understand and represent an increasingly diverse community. https://twitter.com/leoshane/status/1337050859507740676

I’ve met McDonough and have always been impressed by him. But there’s no world in which I would have ever envisioned him as @DeptVetAffairs Sec. For an incoming Biden administration that says representation is a priority, this pick is the ultimate opposite of that commitment.

Biden had over 3 million post-9/11 vets to chose from. And countless dynamic, inspiring, competent, transformative options. Instead of picking a vet leader like General Nadja West ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadja_West ), he picked a civilian Washington insider. The vets community is stunned.

I don’t get a vote. But if I was in the Senate and I did, I could not support McDonough for @DeptVetAffairs Secretary. And I’m not even a Democrat. I expect many Democrats—and especially progressives—to lose their shit over this wildly out-of-touch pick. And rightfully so.

McDonough is also a very cynical pick. It’s emphasizes competence in areas like damage control. That’s a critical part of the job. But this was the time for a transformative, empathetic, inspiring Secretary. One that could encourage vets (& America) to be part of VA’s new future.

It’s also an insider pick. To many, it will feel swampy. And today, instead of an inspiring leader who embodies the potential of vets, we have a pick who is not one of us. It’s patronizing. It wouldn’t be accepted by Democrats at any other agency. It shouldn’t be accepted here.

Other agencies are getting “groundbreaking” and “trailblazing” cabinet nominees. Yet again, @DeptVetAffairs gets “competent”.

It’s yet another reflection of how low veterans rate in terms of understanding and prioritization for American political leadership. From both parties.

In the next few weeks, you’ll hear from lots of insiders and political people who know the nominee—supporting this extremely controversial pick. But ask the activists, the front-line VA workers, the vets who don’t follow politics what they think. Because Biden clearly did not.

Today’s VA nomination news could have been an uplifting, inspiring, exciting moment for 19 million vets and their families. Instead, it’s confusing, disappointing, infuriating, insulting—or even worse—irrelevant. Tragically, after two decades of war & struggle, we’re used to it.

Biden is not having a good week.

He’s nominating a General for Secretary of Defense and a civilian for Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

It has to be asked: what the hell is he thinking? These are huge, easily-avoidable fumbles at such a critical time. #WTF