VA Secretary David Shulkin may be widely respected, but he still needs to watch his back.Cheriss May/NurPhoto via ZUMA

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This is a helluva story:

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is managing the government’s second-largest bureaucracy from a fortified bunker atop the agency’s Washington headquarters. He has canceled the morning meetings once attended by several of President Trump’s political appointees — members of his senior management team — gathering instead with aides he trusts not to miscast his remarks. Access to Shulkin’s 10th-floor executive suite was recently revoked for several people he has accused of lobbying the White House to oust him. He and his public-affairs chief have not spoken in weeks.

And in a sign of how deeply the secretary’s trust in his senior staff has eroded, an armed guard now stands outside his office….“Things have come to a grinding halt,” one senior manager said. “It’s killing the agency. Nobody trusts each other.”

Shulkin wants to expand access to private doctors but keep the VA in overall charge of treatment for veterans. The Trump zealots want to blow up the VA and allow veterans to choose private doctors for anything they want. So they’ve declared war on Shulkin.

Shulkin would like to fire them all, but it’s unclear if he has White House backing to do so. So the war continues. Welcome to Donald Trump’s Washington.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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