Air Force reserve officer Robert Wilkie has been sworn in as the new secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. While serving in the Pentagon last year, Robert Wilkie led efforts to defend Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. He was once a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which defends public displays of the Confederate flag. In the 1990s, he also opposed proposals to ensure equal pay for women. Wilkie replaces David Shulkin, who claims he was fired by Trump for opposing the privatization of the Veterans Affairs agency.