Peter O'Rourke (U.S. government official)

Peter O'Rourke (born January 3, 1966) is an American government official. He served as the acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs and VA Chief of Staff under President Donald Trump.[1] He previously worked in various positions in government consulting, including as a congressional staffer for U.S. Representative Tom Latham, and as an employee for CALIBRE Systems, and he also served as the executive director of the Republican Party of Florida.

Peter O'Rourke Jr.
Acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In office
May 29, 2018 – July 30, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyThomas G. Bowman
Preceded byRobert Wilkie (acting)
Succeeded byRobert Wilkie
Personal details
Born (1966-01-03) January 3, 1966
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Tennessee (BA)
Air University (MS)
NicknameROUR
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
 United States Air Force
Years of service1988–2002

Education

O'Rourke graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Tennessee in 1998 and in logistics, materials and supply chain management from the Air Force Institute of Technology of the Air University in 2005.[2]

Career

O'Rourke is a veteran of the Navy and Air Force.[3] He held various leadership roles with Calibre Systems, the Association of the U.S. Army, Blackland Aerospace, Strong America Now, Accenture, and George Group Consulting.

Department of Veterans Affairs

In May 2017, O'Rourke began work within the Department of Veterans Affairs as the executive director for VA's Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.[4]

He was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as the chief of staff of the VA on February 16, 2018, where he was key to the passage of the VA MISSION Act of 2018.[5] The bill allocated $55 billion toward providing veterans with more private healthcare options.[6]

On May 29, 2018, O'Rourke was appointed by President Trump to serve as the Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs while Robert Wilkie awaited Senate confirmation to serve in the position in a permanent capacity.[7] O'Rourke was chosen over Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman, who announced his retirement in June 2018.[8] Wilkie was sworn in as Secretary of the VA on July 30, 2018.[9]

In December 2018, O'Rourke was forced to resign his position as VA senior advisor after the White House was told he was doing little work but still getting paid.[10][11]

In October 2019, the Inspector General of the VA reported that O'Rourke had used his power as head of the whistleblower office to end investigations into allies, and that he had failed to provide basic reports to Congress on the office's operations.[12][13][14][15]

Florida Republican Party

In August 2019, O'Rourke was appointed as the executive director of the Florida Republican Party.[16] Some Florida Republicans criticized his running of the party.[17] O'Rourke announced he would resign from his position in March 2020.[18]

References
  1. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. "Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  2. "Peter O'Rourke to Head VA Office for Accountability & Whistleblower Protection". Executive Gov. May 15, 2017.
  3. Shane, Leo, III (May 30, 2018). "Big changes for VA's leadership". Military.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Krause, Benjamin (31 May 2018). "Advice For Peter O'Rourke, Ex-CALIBRE Exec Turned Acting VA Secretary". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  5. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. "Peter O'Rourke Senior Executive Biography" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  6. Military.com. "Trump Signs $55 Billion Bill to Replace VA Choice Program". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  7. POLITICO. "Trump taps O'Rourke as acting VA secretary ahead of Wilkie confirmation". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  8. Stars and Stripes. "VA leadership shuffle: Secretary steps down, chief of staff moves up, deputy retires". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  9. Ebbs, Stephanie (July 30, 2018). "Robert Wilkie sworn in as new Veterans Affairs secretary". ABC News.
  10. Biery, Maria (December 12, 2018). "VA senior adviser forced to resign after months of getting paid to do no work". Washington Examiner. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  11. Rein, Lisa; Dawsey, Josh (December 11, 2018). "Trump loyalist at VA forced out after collecting pay but doing little work". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  12. Kesling, Ben (24 October 2019). "Veterans Affairs Investigators Fault Whistleblower Office Created by Trump". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  13. Rein, Lisa (October 24, 2019). "Trump's heralded whistleblower office at VA is failing in its most basic mission, watchdog says". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  14. Dixon, Matt (24 October 2019). "Florida GOP official accused of 'misdeeds' and retaliation while at VA". Politico PRO.
  15. Hauserman, Julie. "Reports: Newly picked FL Republican Party director had troubles in Washington".
  16. "Former Trump official to helm Florida Republican Party". AP NEWS. August 26, 2019.
  17. Ogles, Jacob (October 31, 2019). "Florida GOP leaders begin calling for Peter O'Rourke's ousting".
  18. Schorsch, Peter (March 4, 2020). "Executive director Peter O'Rourke leaving Florida GOP".
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