Toby Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, flew to Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday to meet with President-elect Donald Trump. Bloomberg cites a source saying Mr. Trump is considering the seasoned healthcare leader as head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Cosgrove secured the final meeting of the day with Mr. Trump at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate. The meeting overlapped with Dr. Cosgrove's vacation time, according to Cleveland.com. Neither Cleveland Clinic nor Dr. Cosgrove disclosed the subject of the meeting.
If Mr. Trump is considering Dr. Cosgrove for the VA spot, it would not be the first time the Vietnam War veteran found himself in the running. In 2014, President Barack Obama spoke with Dr. Cosgrove about assuming the leadership position, but Dr. Cosgrove declined in order to stay at Cleveland Clinic.
In early December, Mr. Trump appointed Dr. Cosgrove to a 16-member advisory panel of business leaders to share non-partisan advice on policy and strategy. Cleveland.com reports Dr. Cosgrove was seen visiting Trump Tower in New York City last week.
Bloomberg reports on others in consideration to head the VA. Luis Quiñonez, head of IQ Management, is another contender who met with Mr. Trump early in the day Tuesday. IQ Management is a multibillion dollar company related to military and healthcare issues, and Mr. Quiñonez — a Vietnam War veteran — serves on Mr. Trump's Hispanic Advisory Council. Mr. Quiñonez confirmed the meeting regarded the VA leadership position, for which he is in consideration, to a reporter for Univision. He said the meeting lasted two hours.
U.S. Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, the first black woman to command a Navy ship, and Pete Hegseth, a Fox News contributor, former Army National Guard captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, are also reportedly in the running.