VA Secretary Nicholson to step down

Above: Jim Nicholson surrounded by veterans and flags at a public relations event. Secretary of Veterans Affairs since January 26, 2005, Nicholson is an attorney, real estate developer, former Ambassador to the Vatican, and a former Republican Party chairman. He testified to Congress in May, saying that millions of dollars in bonuses for top VA officials were justified because they could get higher salaries in the private sector.

U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson said on Tuesday he would step down, leaving an agency that with the military has been criticized for the care received by Iraq war veterans.

Nicholson, whose resignation is effective no later than October 1, said he wanted to return to the private sector.

"This coming February, I turn 70 years old, and I feel it is time for me to get back into business, while I still can," he said in a prepared statement

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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