The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced several appointments of political appointees from the Trump administration. Chris Syrek, who previously served as deputy chief of staff during the first Trump administration, will now serve as chief of staff. In his prior role, Syrek was involved in implementing significant reforms such as the VA MISSION Act and reducing the backlog of disability claims.

Cheryl Mason has been appointed senior advisor to the secretary. During her previous tenure as chair of the Board of Veterans Appeals, Mason implemented strategies that increased decision output by 95% and reduced legacy appeals by 80%. Lynda Davis will return to her former role as chief officer with VA’s Veterans Experience Office. She led initiatives that improved customer experience and launched the White House VA Hotline.

Karen Brazell has been named senior advisor to the secretary after serving in various roles within VA's Office of Enterprise Integration and Acquisition. Curt Cashour will also serve as a senior advisor; he was previously press secretary and deputy assistant secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at VA.

Lavin Gartland is appointed senior advisor to the secretary and VA White House liaison. Her background includes advising on federal COVID-19 funding allocation and fundraising efforts exceeding $10 million for various entities.

Danielle Runyan joins as senior advisor to the Office of General Counsel from First Liberty Institute in Texas, where she focused on religious liberty litigation. John Bartrum will serve as senior advisor to the assistant secretary for management after leading Brightstar Innovations Group.

Morgan Ackley becomes director of Media Affairs for Public Affairs, having served as communications director for both Georgia Senate Republican Caucus and Donald Trump's presidential campaign in Georgia.

These appointments come following a White House announcement naming Todd Hunter acting secretary of Veterans Affairs on January 20.