Obama Selects Portman Supporter for VA Head
President Obama has selected a former CEO of Procter & Gamble Company and financial supporter of Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to be the next Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Obama selected Robert McDonald , who retired from Procter and Gamble in 2013, to fill the position left vacant by the resignation of former four-star General Eric Shinseki.
McDonald, 61, a West Point graduate and five-year Army veteran, has not been a regular Republican donor over the years, but he and his wife have given to Sen. Rob Portman. On January 13, 2012, McDonald and his wife, Diane, each gave $5,000 to Portman’s leadership PAC, Promoting Our Republican Team PAC. McDonald also gave $2,400 to Portman for Senate in 2009, and $1,000 in October 2013.
In February 2014, McDonald gave $500 to Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont.
McDonald also gave $5,000 in 2012 to the presidential campaign of Republican Mitt Romney. In 2012, McDonald gave $2,500 to the campaign of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and $1,000 more in July 2013.
Earlier, McDonald gave $1,000 in 2003 to Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky., and another $1,000 in 2005.
McDonald has also given to Procter & Gamble’s Good Government Committee.
McDonald lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.