We reported in the March/April issue that Cheryl Mason had been selected by President Donald Trump as an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection). He has now nominated her to be the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Inspector General positions are nonpartisan and require Senate confirmation.
Per the VA website, “The Inspector General provides executive leadership and sets strategic direction for a nationwide staff of auditors, investigators, inspectors, and support personnel who conduct independent oversight reviews and investigations of the second largest Department in the Federal government, the Department of Veterans Affairs. OIG [Office of the Inspector General] oversight is designed to improve the economy, effectiveness and efficiency of VA programs, and to prevent and to detect criminal activity, waste, abuse, and fraud.”
Mason was the first woman appointed as Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, serving from November 2017 to August 2022. She is the daughter of a World War II Navy veteran, the spouse of an Air Force veteran and the author of “Dare to Relate: Leading with a Fierce Heart.”
