Robert Wilkie has served as acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs since March -- and President Trump wants to make his position permanent.

Trump officially nominated Wilkie to lead the massive and embattled agency on May 18. The president said the announcement came as a surprise to Wilkie.

Wilkie, 55, has led the department in his interim capacity after Trump announced his decision to replace David Shulkin in March. Then, Trump said he intended to nominate presidential physician, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, to lead Veterans Affairs, but Jackson eventually withdrew his name from consideration following controversy.

Read on for a look at four things to know about the Wilkie.

He served in the Air Force and Navy

Wilkie served in the United States Naval Reserve, according to his Defense Department biography.

He would later join the Air Force as a reserve officer and was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff, his biography said.

He holds a masters in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. Wilkie is also a graduate of Wake Forest University, Georgetown University and Loyola University in New Orleans.

He is also the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness

Wilkie took over as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in November 2017. According to his Defense Department biography, he advises the Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management on the National Guard, training, health issues and personnel requirements.

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In 2005, Wilkie was tapped to serve as assistant secretary of the Defense Department. He was the youngest senior leader in the department at the time, his biography states.

He worked for a massive engineering firm

Wilkie was vice president for strategic programs for CH2M HILL, a global engineering company, from 2010 to 2015, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. 

Some of his assignments included reforming the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Supply and Logistics System, his biography explains.

Wilkie also worked on the Hill

Wilkie worked for Sen. Trent Lott, then the Majority Leader, from 1997 to 2003, according to the News & Observer. He also served as an aide to former Sen. Jesse Helms and former Rep. David Funderburk.

Additionally, Wilkie was executive director of the North Carolina GOP, the newspaper reported. 

In 1996, Wilkie unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Congress, the News & Observer reported.

The Treasury Department on Thursday seemed to undercut the rationale used by the unnamed leaker who is claiming responsibility for breaching and disclosing Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s financial records.

The department also reiterated that disclosures of “suspicious activity reports,” or SARs, are “not authorized” and said its inspector general was investigating the leak of Cohen’s records.

“In any event, government employees and law enforcement personnel with access to the system are not authorized to publicly disclose SARs, and, as previously reported, Treasury’s Inspector General is looking into whether any SARs were improperly disclosed,” a spokesman for the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, said in a Thursday statement.

“Under longstanding procedures, FinCEN will limit access to certain SARs when requested by law enforcement authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation."

- FinCEN spokesperson

The leaker has not been named. But an individual came forward, anonymously, on Wednesday to claim responsibility for leaking those records showing Cohen used a shell company to receive payments.

MORE COHEN DEALINGS UNDER SCRUTINY, AS FINANCIAL DOCUMENT LEAKER SPEAKS OUT

The law enforcement official, speaking to The New Yorker, claimed he did it because he was concerned about alleged missing files.

But Fox News has learned FinCEN limits access to SARs but does not delete or remove them from the database. Users attempting to view a restricted SAR are informed that it is unavailable for viewing at that time.

“Under longstanding procedures, FinCEN will limit access to certain SARs when requested by law enforcement authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation,” a FinCEN spokesperson said.

The SARs were filed by a bank that Cohen used. Banks are required to file such reports when they notice transactions that may break the law -- and such records can be accessed by law enforcement.

The anonymous source claimed to The New Yorker that two SARs detailing more than $3 million in additional transactions were missing from the database maintained by FinCEN.

Cohen has been facing renewed scrutiny over his business dealings. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Cohen had solicited a $1 million payment from the Qatari government in 2016 in exchange for access to the incoming Trump administration.

The revelation came after multiple outlets reported last week that Cohen had used his relationship with Trump to receive millions of dollars from companies looking for similar access.

According to the Post, the firms included AT&T, pharmaceutical company Novartis, a Korean defense contractor and Columbus Nova, a New York-based investment firm which has been linked to a Russian oligarch.

But the pitch to Qatar, which reportedly was declined, marked the first report of Cohen dealing directly with a foreign government and could raise significant ethical questions.

As Cohen fends off those questions, though, speculation has mounted over how his financial records were made public in the first place.

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, first cited those records last week, as other media outlets confirmed them. Cohen is being investigated in part over a $130,000 payment he made to Daniels in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election in exchange for her silence over an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

Fox News’ John Roberts contributed to this report.

President Trump’s pick to lead the CIA Gina Haspel picked up endorsements from key Democrats Tuesday ahead of a confirmation vote expected later this week.  

Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner, D-Va., Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., all offered support to Haspel on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m going to support Gina Haspel’s nomination to be Director of the CIA. I also respect my colleagues who have made a different decision,” Warner said in a statement, acknowledging that his endorsement was a “difficult decision” and citing “valid questions” raised throughout the process about Haspel’s history.

Heitkamp also said she is “planning to vote to confirm” Haspel on Wednesday.

“This was not an easy decision. Ms. Haspel’s involvement in torture is deeply troubling, as my friend and colleague, John McCain, so eloquently reminded us,” Heitkamp said in a statement. “However, Ms. Haspel explained to me that the agency should not have employed such tactics in the past and has assured me that it will not do so in the future.”

Nelson said Haspel "has earned the respect and backing of former intelligence chiefs from the Bush and Obama administrations."

"I will vote to support her nomination to be the next director of the CIA,” the Florida senator said.

These endorsements follow Haspel support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly. All but Warner are facing tough re-election races this year. 

Haspel was nominated to replace former CIA director and now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said her confirmation vote will be held this week. A committee vote is expected Wednesday. 

Haspel appears to have the votes for confirmation, despite opposition from GOP Sen. Rand Paul. Ailing Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also opposes Haspel but is unlikely to vote

Haspel has proven to be a controversial pick for the president, over her history at the CIA and the agency’s use of harsh interrogation tactics.

But in a letter to Warner on Monday, Haspel wrote that “the enhanced interrogation program is not one that the CIA should have undertaken.”

“I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral—like a return to torture,” Warner said.

In the letter, Haspel wrote that she would not “condemn” those who made the “hard calls” after the 9/11 terror attacks. But she added that the interrogation program “ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world.”

Fox News' Chad Pergram and Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report. 

Gina Haspel, President Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, admitted the agency should not have conducted its enhanced interrogation program.

“With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken,” Haspel wrote in a May 14 letter to Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that.”

Haspel took over as acting CIA director after Mike Pompeo was confirmed secretary of state. During a rocky confirmation hearing earlier this month, Haspel said her “strong moral compass” would prevent her from engaging in torture as an interrogation technique, even if the request came from the White House. She also said she does not believe “torture works.”

“Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership on my watch, [the] CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation program,” she said.

However, noticeably, Haspel declined to outright condemn the past interrogation practices as “immoral” during her hearing, even when pressed by lawmakers.

GREEN BERET WATERBOARDS HIMSELF IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP’S CIA PICK, GINA HASPEL

In her letter to Warner, a Democrat, Haspel said she would not “condemn” those who made the “hard calls” after the 9/11 terror attacks. She added that the interrogation program “ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world.”

“As Director, I would refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to my moral and ethical values,” Haspel added. “As I was able to describe in detail during the classified session, in my role as Deputy and now Acting Director, every operation I review must not only meet those high standards, the activity must also be consistent with CIA’s mission, expertise, and the law. I do not and would not hesitate to reject a proposal that fails to meet this threshold.”

Haspel reportedly ran the CIA’s first overseas detention site in Thailand, where imprisoned militants were repeatedly waterboarded, according to The New York Times. She also briefly ran a secret CIA prison where accused terrorists Abu Zubayadah and Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri were waterboarded, according to former U.S. intelligence officials.

KAMALA HARRIS GRILLS CIA NOMINEE ON WHETHER INTERROGATIONS WHERE ‘IMMORAL’

Haspel has been heavily criticized for her participation in carrying out an order for the CIA to destroy its waterboarding videos. That order prompted a lengthy Justice Department investigation that ended without charges.

As the Senate continues to consider whether Haspel, 61, should officially lead the CIA, Republican Sens. John McCain and Rand Paul have come together to reject her nomination.

McCain, a Navy pilot who was beaten in captivity during the Vietnam War, is not expected to return to Washington, D.C., from Arizona, where he is battling brain cancer, to vote on Haspel. Still, he said her “role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia said they would back Trump’s pick.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to hold a closed-door vote to confirm Haspel on Wednesday. If approved by the committee, her nomination would head to the Senate, where she is expected to narrowly be confirmed.

If approved, Haspel would become the CIA's first-ever female director.

Fox News’ Jennifer Earl, Gregg Re and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security denied a New York Times story on Thursday saying Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen nearly resigned this week after President Trump “berated” her in front of other Cabinet members.

“The @nytimes article alleging that the Secretary drafted a resignation letter yesterday and was close to resigning is false,” said Tyler Q. Houlton, a DHS spokesman. “The Secretary is hard at work today on the President's security-focused agenda and supporting the men and women of @DHSgov.”

The New York Times reported Trump, who has long promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico, lashed out at Nielson over the border not being secured. The paper said Nielsen drafted a resignation letter but has not submitted it.

In a statement, Nielsen did not address the reports that she considered quitting. But she said Trump “is rightly frustrated that existing loopholes and the lack of Congressional action have prevented this administration from fully securing the border and protecting the American people.”

“I share his frustration,” Nielsen said. “Border security is the most basic and necessary responsibility of a sovereign nation.  These are complex issues and I will continue to direct the Department to do all we can to implement the President’s security-focused agenda.”

Added Nielsen, “It is my great honor to represent the men and women of DHS who work every day to enforce our laws and secure our nation.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also didn’t address the reports about Nielsen considering resigning. But she said, “the president is committed to fixing our broken immigration system and our porous borders.”

“We are a country of laws and the president and his administration will enforce them," Sanders said.

Fox News’ Kristin Brown and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Following a confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., voiced his opposition to Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA.

McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, criticized Haspel’s role in the George W. Bush administration’s "enhanced interrogation program."

Haspel had overseen a detention facility for suspected terrorists in Thailand during the early years of the War on Terror, the Arizona Republic reported.

McCain has frequently spoken out against waterboarding and other interrogation practices. He said Wednesday that Haspel’s refusal to regard the so-called torture program as immoral, disqualifies her.

The senator said the decision to use enhanced interrogation techniques was understandable, given the atmosphere of the post-9/11 world, but argued “the methods we employ to keep our nation safe must be as right and just as the values we aspire to live up to and promote in the world.”

He called Haspel’s role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans “disturbing,” and urged his Senate colleagues to reject her nomination, the Hill reported. 

McCain has been absent from the Senate while battling brain cancer, but has continued to stay engaged with Washington.

During Wednesday's hearing, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., pressed Haspel regarding her views on torture being “immoral.” Haspel refused to condemn the agency’s practices, but pledged to not revive the program.  

“I’m not going to sit here, with the benefit of hindsight, and judge the very good people who made hard decisions, who were running the agency in very extraordinary circumstances,” Haspel told the committee.

With McCain and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the lone Republicans openly opposed to Haspel’s nomination, she will need at least one Democratic vote to secure the job.

On Wednesday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., threw in his support for Haspel.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted favorably of Haspel, “I had the chance to watch Acting CIA Director Gina Haspel testify. I’m looking forward to receiving the intelligence as Secretary of State from this amazing leader. Win Gina!” 

President Trump defended on Monday his nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel, slamming Democrats for accusing her of being “too tough on terror.”

The White House has repeatedly come to Haspel’s defense as Democrats push for her to withdraw her name from consideration following the revelation that she was a chief of base at a covert detention site in Thailand, where two terrorism suspects were subjected to waterboarding -- a technique that simulates drowning.

“My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on terrorists. Think of that, in these very dangerous times, we have the most qualified person, a woman, who Democrats want OUT because she is too tough on terror. Win Gina!” Trump tweeted early Monday.

But Haspel has come under partisan pressure in recent weeks, and reportedly offered to withdraw, though Fox News could not independently verify those reports.

WH SAYS GINA HASPEL CIA NOMINATION 'WON'T BE DERAILED BY PARTISAN CRITICS' AFTER REPORTS SHE OFFERED TO WITHDRAW

White House spokesman Raj Shah defended Haspel last week, saying that her “nomination will not be derailed by partisan critics who side with the ACLU over the CIA on how to keep the American people safe.”

Haspel, who would be the first woman to lead the CIA, and first career operations officer to be nominated for the post in decades, served almost entirely undercover and much of her record is classified.

“There has been a fascinating phenomenon over the last few weeks. Those who know the true Gina Haspel -- who worked with her, served with her, who helped her confront terrorism, Russia and countless other threats to our nation -- they almost uniformly support her. There is a reason for that,” CIA spokesman Dean Boyd told Fox News. “When the American people finally have a chance to see the true Gina Haspel on Wednesday, they will understand why she is so admired and why she is and will be a great leader for this agency.”

Haspel will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday for her confirmation hearing.

Haspel’s nomination also has been supported by members of past administrations -- like Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“If you were not in a position of authority on September 11, you have no idea the pressures that we faced to try and make sure that this country wasn’t attacked again,” Rice said on “Fox & Friends” last week.

Haspel’s work also has been praised by members of the Obama administration -- like former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell.

Fox News’ Frank Miles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.