Senate confirms former VA benefits chief as new deputy secretary

Senate lawmakers confirmed Paul Lawrence as the next Veterans Affairs deputy secretary Thursday, putting in place another key leader at the department as administration officials plan massive reforms for the bureaucracy.

Lawrence, who previously served as VA’s under secretary for benefits during President Donald Trump’s first term in office, was approved along party lines by a 51-45 vote. He is expected to be sworn into the No. 2 leadership post at the department in the next few days.

During his confirmation hearing last month, Lawrence faced opposition from Democratic lawmakers, not because of his qualifications, but because of concerns about Trump’s reform plans for VA. Those plans include a proposal to slash the VA workforce by more than 80,000 workers, bringing staffing back to 2019 levels.

But Democratic votes were not needed in the Republican-majority chamber for Lawrence to be confirmed to the department leadership post.

The vote makes him essentially the chief operating officer for the department, where he’ll be handling a variety of issues, including the ongoing electronic health records overhaul.

During his confirmation hearing, Lawrence vowed to continue implementation of the PACT Act — a 2022 law dramatically expanding veterans benefits eligibility for military toxic exposure injuries — and work for ways to offer more medical care options to veterans.

He also denied accusations that Trump administration officials were working to massively shift veterans funding from federal medical centers to private-sector clinics.

“We are not going to privatize VA,” he said. “We would push back on any efforts to do that.”

Lawrence is an Army veteran who has written several books on management and government.

In an interview with Military Times last month, VA Secretary Doug Collins said that Lawrence’s confirmation needed to be completed before the department could move ahead on two other key leadership posts: the under secretary for health and the under secretary for benefits.

Both posts require a special panel review of potential candidates before a nominee can be announced. Lawrence, who previously served in the benefits role, will help with the administration of that work.

During Trump’s first term in office, the department did not have a confirmed leader of the Veterans Health Administration because of complications with that nomination process. Trump has already tapped former Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown to serve as the head of cemetery and memorial affairs for the department, the last of VA’s top five leadership posts.