(U.S. Senate) – Chairman Jon Tester of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee today led a successful bipartisan vote to confirm Denis R. McDonough to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) after taking to the Senate floor in support of President Joe Biden’s nominee.

McDonough was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of 87-7.

“Denis McDonough has demonstrated that he is unequivocally the man for this job, and I look forward to working with him to ensure that we live up to the promises to veterans in Montana and across the country,” said Chairman Tester. “Now more than ever, veterans need a strong leader who will prioritize delivering timely and quality health care and benefits over making political points. Moving forward, I’ll be holding him and the Department accountable to being squarely focused on serving the needs of our servicemembers, veterans, and their families.”

Chairman Tester joined Republicans and Democrats on the committee last week in unanimously clearing McDonough’s nomination. Earlier this month, Tester pressed McDonough on the responsibility of leading the nation’s second largest federal agency and challenged him to address a number of issues at the Department. McDonough pledged to prioritize living up to the promises made to all veterans.

Video of Tester’s full speech can be found HERE.