WASHINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he would nominate Robert Wilkie, acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to lead the department.

Wilkie, currently the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, has led the department for two months since David Shulkin was pushed out in late March amid questions over his unauthorized travel expenses and other alleged ethics problems.

Trump revealed the nomination during an unrelated prison reform event at the White House, saying it would be a surprise for Wilkie.

"Acting Secretary Wilkie, who by the way has done an incredible job at the VA, and I'll be informing him in a little while, he doesn't know this yet that we're going to be putting his name up for nomination to be secretary of the Veteran Administration," Trump said.

Wilkie made an appearance at the White House briefing room Thursday, saying that he was there to accept a donation from the president to the department of his salary for the first quarter of 2018.

The president previously nominated White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson for the job, but the rear admiral of the U.S. Navy withdrew last month after allegations that he had been lax with prescription drugs and drank alcohol on the job.

The department that Wilkie, 55, is tapped to permanently lead, is the federal government's second-largest, responsible for 9 million military veterans in more than 1,700 government-run health facilities, but has long been criticized for its management and service.

Wilkie's views on how shift care for veterans into private sector and other issues facing the agency remain unclear.