In a way, I'm saddened he didn't succeed in accomplishing this. Although the so-called 'Mission Act", his watered-down version of the privatization of the VA, is nearly as bad.
https://www.militarytimes.com/vetera...s-in-new-book/
WASHINGTON — Eager for changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs, President Donald Trump toyed early on with issuing an executive order to close parts of the VA health system without consulting Congress, according to an upcoming book by his former VA secretary.
In the book, obtained by The Associated Press, David Shulkin describes a March 6, 2017, conversation in the Oval Office where Trump explored ways his administration could act quickly to shutter government-run VA medical centers that he viewed as poorly performing.
Trump was fresh off his 2016 campaign in which privatizing VA had become a political hot button after he pledged to steer more veterans to private-sector doctors outside the VA. He had said the VA was the “the most corrupt” and “probably the most incompetently run” Cabinet department. Democrats and major veterans’ groups oppose “privatization” and say VA facilities are best-suited to treat battlefield injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
At the meeting, Trump asked whether “we should begin to close the VAs,” according to the book. Legislation prohibited that, so Shulkin responded that the VA was working with Congress to set up a system-wide review to address underperforming facilities, whether by fixing or closing.