Senate Confirms VA Tech and Whistleblower Leaders Amid IT Crisis

Why it Matters

Two nominees for offices in the drastically restructured Department of Veterans' affairs claimed independence from the current administration during a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee confirmation hearing June 3. Gary Shatswell is up for the top technology post and Michael Tierney contends to head the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. The Trump administration is pushing both nominations forward even as Democrats on the panel raised sharp questions about the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) troubled IT record and an underfunded whistleblower protection office.

The Big Picture

The hearing arrived at a moment of institutional stress at VA. The department's Electronic Health Record (EHR) Modernization program resumed after a three-year pause to address system issues, with nine additional site deployments planned for 2026 after the original four in April and a lifecycle cost that has grown to an estimated $37 billion. Shatswell is Trump's third nominee for the VA Chief Information Officer role since the start of his second term, following the withdrawals of Ryan Cote and Alan Boehme. The pace of turnover that drew scrutiny.

On the accountability side, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published July 2025 found the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP) could not consistently track corrective actions in whistleblower cases and lacked accurate settlement data. A Democratic minority report released in January 2026 documented what it called the administration's "assault on veterans," citing the loss of tens of thousands of VA employees under DOGE-driven workforce reductions.

What they're saying

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), the committee chairman, set a collegial tone, opening with an apology for the hearing's delayed start and framing the nominations as essential to the VA's mission."Accountability is not an option, and it's essential," he said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the ranking member, was less measured. He cited 4,300 complaints to OAWP in fiscal year 2025 but only 32 disciplinary recommendations, and described the VA's technology record in blunt terms. "This system has suffered from massive cost overruns," he said. To Tierney, he said, "Stand up to this administration and say we need to protect whistleblowers."

Blumenthal also pressed Tierney directly on his qualifications, noting the nominee acknowledged he has no prior VA experience. When asked whether he had worked on behalf of whistleblowers, Tierney replied he had worked with whistleblowers, a distinction that appeared to leave Blumenthal unsatisfied.

The exchange crystallized the central tension: Democratic members are skeptical that nominees without extesnive VA backgrounds can assert the independence necessary to push back on an administration that has significantly restructured the department. Moran, by contrast, emphasized the nominees' professional credentials and framed the hearing as a standard confirmation proceeding.

Gary Shatswell, nominated as VA Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, leaned heavily on personal narrative, describing ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War and Civil War and a father he regularly took to the VA in Tacoma. He outlined a vision for VA technology built around eliminating redundant information requests, moving to "digitally native" processes, and establishing "clear, bright-lined guardrails" for artificial intelligence.

Michael Tierney, nominated to lead OAWP, drew on a 30-year legal career that included senior roles at the State Department and USAID. He invoked Lincoln's second inaugural address, calling the VA's obligation to veterans "not a suggestion" but "a promise," and pledged to work "relentlessly and independently."

Political Stakes

For Shatswell, the stakes are immediate. He would inherit an EHR program under active GAO scrutiny, a technology office that shed staff during DOGE-era workforce reductions, and a congressional oversight apparatus that has held a dedicated EHR hearing nearly every Congress since 2018, including last year's "From Reset to Rollout" hearing in the House. Senate Democrats, particularly those representing states where EHR deployments are underway, have already signaled concern about the pace of the rollout. For Tierney, the political exposure is structural: he is being asked to lead an office created specifically to protect VA employees who report misconduct, at a moment when the VA workforce has contracted by an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 employees. The Project on Government Oversight has called on Congress to mandate that OAWP misconduct reports be made publicly available and that the office reduce its investigation backlog, creating a ready-made agenda for Democratic members to press Tierney on.

For the administration, confirming both nominees would allow it to claim it is stabilizing VA leadership after a period of disruption, while a stumble at the hearing would reinforce the Democratic narrative that the administration has left the VA without accountable, Senate-confirmed leadership in two of its most consequential offices.

Yes, but: Both nominees emphasized personal connections to military service and pledged independence from the administration, framing that could reassure some Republican members who represent veteran-heavy states. Moran noted the EHR rollout is "back on track after a lengthy pause," and the administration has pointed to the program's resumed deployments as evidence of progress. Shatswell's background as a senior advisor to VA Secretary Doug Collins since December 2025 also gives him more institutional familiarity than some prior nominees, even if it raises questions about his independence from department leadership.

What's Next

The committee is expected to vote on both nominations before sending them to the Senate floor. Given the Republican majority on the panel and the absence of any declared opposition from GOP members, both nominees are positioned for confirmation.

The Bottom Line

Two nominees with no prior VA experience are asking a skeptical Democratic minority to trust that they will act independently, inside an agency that has shed tens of thousands of workers and is running one of the most troubled IT programs in the federal government. What comes next, remains to be seen.

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