( CNN ) -- As expected , President Barack Obama announced Bob McDonald as his choice to head the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday . He described McDonald , a West Point graduate and former CEO of Procter & Gamble , as one of the `` nation 's most accomplished business leaders and managers . '' `` He 's no-nonsense . He 's pragmatic . He does not seek the limelight , '' Obama said about his pick . McDonald 's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate . The VA , a massive bureaucracy with more than 300,000 full-time employees , is under fire as it deals with allegations of alarming shortcomings at its medical facilities . The controversy , as CNN first reported , involves delayed care with potentially fatal consequences in possibly dozens of cases . Eric Shinseki stepped down as head of the department in May after Republicans , Democrats and veterans ' advocacy groups joined in calling for his resignation . `` Let me state the obvious : This is not going to be an easy assignment , '' said Obama , announcing McDonald 's nomination . `` He understands that grand plans are not enough ; what matters is the operations that you put in place and getting the job done . Bob is an expert at making organizations better , '' the President said . A statement from the White House touted McDonald 's 33 years at P & G and described his as the `` perfect person to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs during this important time . '' At P & G , he is said to have overseen more than 120,000 employees , reaching more than 5 billion customers worldwide . In the Army , McDonald served as a captain , primarily in the 82nd Airborne Division and received the meritorious service medal . He received a bachelor 's degree in engineering from West Point and an MBA from the University of Utah . It remains to be seen what kind of reception McDonald will receive on Capitol Hill , but members of Congress are adamant that change is needed . `` Bob McDonald is a good man , a veteran , and a strong leader with decades of experience in the private sector . With those traits , he 's the kind of person who is capable of implementing the kind of dramatic systemic change that is badly needed and long overdue at the VA , '' said House Speaker John Boehner . Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida , chairman of the House Committee on Veterans ' Affairs , said in a statement to CNN that if McDonald is confirmed by the Senate , he would inherit a department `` under a specter of corruption that may very well surpass anything in the history of American government . '' `` He 'll need to root out the culture of dishonesty and fraud that has taken hold within the department and is contributing to all of its most pressing challenges . Quite simply , those who created the VA scandal will need to be purged from the system , '' Miller said . Since Shinseki 's resignation , the White House has deepened its investigation into what went wrong at the agency . On Friday , a White House report said the agency 's health care system is in need of complete overhaul because of unresponsive leadership and a `` corrosive culture '' that affects the delivery of medical care . The report was prepared by Rob Nabors , who is Obama 's deputy chief of staff and who the President dispatched to assess the situation at the troubled agency . `` It is clear that there are significant and chronic systemic failures that must be addressed by the leadership at VA , '' the reports reads . `` The department must take swift and appropriate accountability actions , '' the report said . `` There must be a recognition of how true accountability works . ''
Obama : Obama describes McDonald as ` ` an expert at making organizations better '' ` ` He 's no - nonsense . He 's pragmatic , '' the president says about his nomination . McDonald is a West Point graduate and former CEO of Procter & Company . His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate .