Ugly power struggle paralyzes Trump's plan to fix veterans' care

WASHINGTON — 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 Donald 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.

Read the full article in Stars and Stripes.