President-elect Joe Biden, right, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, left, look on as former Obama White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough delivers remarks after being introduced as Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Queen Theater on Dec. 11, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Veterans Affairs’ data and technology expert will serve as acting secretary for the entire department as the Senate considers the nomination of Denis McDonough to serve in the permanent Cabinet post.
Officials from the new administration of President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that Dat Tran, principal deputy assistant secretary for VA’s Office of Enterprise Integration, will serve as acting secretary until McDonough’s confirmation process concludes.
That could be a few weeks. McDonough is scheduled to testify before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Jan. 27. Senate officials have not yet released a final schedule for votes on any of Biden’s nominees.
Tran, has served at VA for the last 13 years, including roles leading the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics and the department’s Office of the Actuary.
Before VA, Tran was a staffer at the Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee, overseeing a host of oversight work for VA’s information and technology programs.
He is one of only a few holdovers from President Donald Trump’s administration, even on a temporary basis. Former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, acting VA Deputy Secretary Pamela Powers and several other senior leaders were not asked to stay on in a transition role as their replacements await their official start dates.
Two who were asked to remain for now were Richard Stone, acting under secretary for health, and Carolyn Clancy, deputy under secretary for health. Stone, who has been the department’s lead on coronavirus response, will remain in his current role. Clancy will act as the department’s deputy secretary, overseeing a host of issues.
Biden officials also announced a number of political appointees for other key roles in the department.
Meg Kabat, who led transition efforts for Biden on veterans issues, will serve as a senior advisor on family support and caregiver issues. Kabat previously worked as the head of VA’s Caregiver Support Program.
Kayla Williams will serve as Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. She previously served as director of VA’s Center for Women Veterans, and also was on Biden’s transition team.
Terrence Hayes, former spokesman for the Veterans of Foriegn Wars, will serve as press secretary for the department. Ray Kelley, who had worked as majority staff director for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, will be the department’s new Veteran Service Organization Liaison.
If confirmed, McDonough would be only the second non-veteran to be confirmed as VA Secretary. Biden has said he chose McDonough, a former chief of staff under President Barack Obama, because of his experience navigating federal bureaucracy and his ability to bring different agencies together to tackle VA challenges.
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A National Guard stands at a road block near the Supreme Court ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Soldiers from the North Carolina Army National Guard patrol the Rosslyn Metro station on the morning of the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (Luke Sharrett/Getty Images)
Members of the National Guard stand at a road block near the Supreme Court ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (John Minchillo/AP)
Left to right: Doug Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, incoming first lady Jill Biden, President-elect Joe Biden, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrive for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president on Jan. 20, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden arrive to Biden's inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush arrive before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president on Jan. 20, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Bill Clinton arrives with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Barack Obama, left, bumps fists with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as they arrive for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)
President-elect Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff arrive at the steps of the U.S. Capitol for the start of the official inauguration ceremonies, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley arrives for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president on Jan. 20, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the National Guard salute as they stand near the U.S. Capitol while the national anthem is sung during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Members of the National Guard salute as they stand near the Capitol while the national anthem is sung during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Members of the National Guard stand on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
National Guard troops look on during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Harris, attend a Pass-in-Review ceremony, hosted by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol after the 59th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021 in Washington. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Outgoing President Donald Trump addresses guests at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Trump is en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump descend Marine One as they arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
Outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step out of Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
From left to right: first lady Dr. Jill Biden, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Doug Emhoffl, Harris' husband, watch a military pass-in-review during the inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden, center, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Maj. Gen. Omar J. Jones salute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery on Jan. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony at the Capitol Jan. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Members of the military march on 15th Street towards the White House during a presidential escort to the White House following President Joe Biden taking the oath of office in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jose Luis Magana/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk up Pennsylvania Avenue towards the White House in Washington after Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in at the Capitol on Jan. 20, 202. (Doug Mills/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
Military bands parade past President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they prepare to depart the Capitol following their taking the Oath of Office as the 46th president and 49th vice president of the United States in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Rod Lamkey/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
An honor guard deploys to line up along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
A military band parades on the street near the White House after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in at the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
President-elect Joe Biden bumps fists with former President Barack Obama during Biden's inauguration, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Pool Photo via AP)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they arrive at the North Portico of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/Pool via AP)
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, as their children Ashley and Hunter watch. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP)
President Joe Biden waits to sign his first executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
