A White House official commented on Thursday that Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast is under consideration to replace David Shulkin as the next Secretary of Veteran Affairs. This comes at a time after White House Physician Dr. Ronny Jackson opted out of his nomination last month. In turn, Mast is one of a list of candidates to take on the position that currently oversees an agency of 360,000 employees that serve over 9 million veterans.
Mast, a former Army sergeant, lost both of his legs and a finger while in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010 when a bomb under him exploded.
Having an "A" grading from the NRA, Congressman Mast shocked many after the Parkland shooting incident when he penned an op-ed calling for a ban on assault rifles including AR-15s and raising the age for people to buy firearms.
He's currently running his re-election bid in district 18, a district that Democrats are setting their sights on in what many commentators are calling an incoming "blue wave." However, the district leans Republican and Mast was elected to office in 2016 with 53.6 percent of the vote.
The White House official did not say if Congressman Mast is the leading candidate, and Mast has not yet commented on the news.
