Today, the White House named Peter O’Rourke as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Mr. O’Rourke previously served as VA Chief of Staff and prior to that as executive director of VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.

O’Rourke succeeds former Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie, whom the president has selected for nomination as VA Secretary. Wilkie has returned to his prior position at the Department of Defense, where he serves as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

Jacquelyn Hayes-Byrd will serve as VA Acting Chief of Staff while Mr. O’Rourke serves as Acting Secretary. She previously was VA Deputy Chief of Staff.

In addition, VA Deputy Secretary Thomas G. Bowman is re-entering retirement effective June 15, 2018. VA is thankful for Mr. Bowman’s dedication and commitment in serving our Veterans as Deputy Secretary. His contributions over the past year have been instrumental in helping VA achieve its legislative priorities.

Bowman will maintain his longstanding commitment to VA by providing valuable insight and experience as an expert consultant to the Acting Secretary. His VA experience spanned more than a decade, including assignment as Chief of Staff to two previous VA secretaries. Mr. Bowman looks forward to continuing his service to our nation’s Veterans.

###

Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov

Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.

Contact us online through Ask VA

Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.

Learn about our chatbot and ask a question

Subscribe today to receive these news releases in your inbox.

More from the Press Room