WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today applauded the bipartisan committee approval of Robert Wilkie to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The committee favorably reported the nomination by voice vote. Wilkie’s nomination now moves to the full Senate for a vote.

“As I stated at his confirmation hearing, Mr. Wilkie is a respected, talented nominee for VA secretary, and I believe he is the right person to lead the VA,” said Isakson. “Mr. Wilkie has the expertise and the positive attitude to take on challenges that lie ahead, and he will prove indispensable in helping transform the VA. Today’s committee vote signals the broad, bipartisan support that I hope we can look forward to in his confirmation by the full Senate. I urge my colleagues to support his nomination, and I hope the Senate will act quickly to fill this important position and bring stability and leadership to the VA. Our veterans deserve no less.”

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing to consider the nomination of Wilkie to be secretary of the VA on June 27. Isakson and the committee’s ranking Democrat, U.S. Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., announced on June 28 in a joint statement that they would support his nomination.

During the hearing, Wilkie, who served as acting secretary of the VA from March 28 until Trump formally announced his intent to nominate Wilkie to lead the VA permanently on May 18, pledged to build on the committee’s work and see to it that the VA succeeds in better serving veterans.

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 115th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the armed services as well as more than 750,000 veterans.