President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Denis McDonough to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. The announcement was understandably met with surprise responses, considering that he is the longtime chief of staff to former President Barack Obama is only the second non-veteran to be appointed in that position.

McDonough has served in logistical positions for quite some time, including as a senior advisor on foreign policy issues at the time of Obama’s transition to the White House. He also served as Chief of Staff of the National Security Council and Deputy National Security Advisor, before been appointed as Obama’s Chief of Staff in 2013.

His lack of military experience, however, has sparked pushback from veterans. American In his statement to Fox News, Veterans (AMVETS) National Executive Director Joe Chenelly expressed shock to reports that Biden is planning to nominate McDonough to become the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Chenelly went on to say they would like to see the position to be filled by a veteran. Preferably a post-9/11 veteran, a woman veteran, or at least a veteran who knows the VA well. Aside from Chenelly,  the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America founder Paul Rieckhoff showed his frustration over the nomination as well.

Rieckhoff said it was exceptionally patronizing that the president-elect unable to find a single candidate qualified enough to lead the VA, despite the availability of over 3 million veterans. Cheney noted that there are still some veterans that do not trust the VA, and having someone who is not a veteran at the helm is not going to be helpful.

Chenelly pointed out that the White House and the VA central office may be located just across the street from each other, there is a significant distance in terms of knowing what is happening on the ground. Some labor organizations and veterans service said they were not being consulted about the nomination in advance. This is particularly a big disappointment because they were already feeling ignored by the Trump administration for four years, POLITICO reported.

McDonough's nomination is the latest example of how the former veep is turning to a trusted set of people to surround him in his incoming administration. Biden on Thursday also named top administration officials and other Cabinet nominees, including the former agriculture secretary under Obama, Tom Vilsack for agriculture secretary, Ohio congresswoman, Marcia Fudge for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and former national security adviser under Obama Susan Rice to spearhead White House Domestic Policy Council.

Much to the chagrin of veteran groups that were hoping Biden would pick a veteran of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to fill the position, McDonough has never even served in the military. He is experienced in terms of navigating bureaucracies at the White House and on Capitol Hill, instead, CNN reported.