US military veterans have expressed their "disappointment and concern" over Donald Trump's decision to put his personal doctor in charge of the White House agency responsible for their healthcare.
The President announced yet another change to his staff via Twitter on Wednesday, nominating his physician Dr Ronny Jackson as Veterans Affairs Secretary, after firing David Shulkin.
Dr Jackson – a navy rear admiral who gave Mr Trump a glowing medical assessment earlier this year – is the first non-veteran to head the department, which is facing huge scrutiny in the wake of a damaging ethics scandal.
His predecessor had been the subject of investigations regarding his leadership, as well as making expensive trips abroad with his wife at the expense of the taxpayer.
And he leaves with a multi-billion dollar overhaul of the department's medical records system in limbo.
But Joe Chenelly, national executive director of the major veterans' association AMVETS, has publicly doubted whether his replacement is up to the task.
"We are disappointed and already quite concerned about this nominee," he said.
"The administration needs to be ready to prove that he's qualified to run such a massive agency, a $200bn bureaucracy."
Mr Trump has insisted Dr Jackson – who was also Barack Obama's physician from 2013 – is "highly trained and qualified" for the role, with the President reportedly left impressed by his performance at the press conference in which he revealed the results of his medical.
He had also been recommended for an undersecretary position at the agency late last year by Mr Shulkin himself.
The switch comes as Mr Trump attempts to fulfil several campaign promises related to Veterans Affairs – the second largest department in the government, responsible for nine million former servicemen across 1,700 state health facilities.
On the campaign trail he blasted it as "corrupt" in relation to a 2014 scandal at Phoenix Medical Centre, in which veterans were made to wait months for care, with secret waiting lists used to cover up delays.
Mr Trump said he would bring accountability to the department and expand access to private doctors, which veterans' groups have argued could be an unwelcome step towards privatising all of their healthcare.
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The departure of Mr Shulkin is the latest in an increasingly long line of changes at the top level of the Trump administration, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson having been fired earlier this month and national security adviser HR McMaster replaced by John Bolton just last week.
Robert Wilkie, undersecretary of defence for personnel and readiness, will be the acting head of Veterans Affairs until Dr Jackson's nomination is approved.
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Sky News
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