Does New VA Secretary Have What It Takes? On Tuesday, the newest VA Secretary was confirmed to lead the country’s second largest federal agency under President Joe Biden. A nonveteran, Secretary Denis McDonough will now lead the agency responsible for providing benefits and services to over 20 million veterans while managing over 300,000 employees and the nation’s largest socialized healthcare system. The annual budget is well over $200 billion, but the agency has yet to fully resolve many challenges of past administrations. Many veterans complain about challenges getting access to both benefits and timely healthcare despite expansion of community care. Agency employees are still fearful to dissent against leadership that encourages groupthink. The electronic health record is still not transitioned from VistA to MHS Genesis. And there are many other issues that remain unresolved from previous administrations.