# Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is a senior position within the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that is responsible for the operation and policies of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, which is the administrative tribunal within the department responsible for holding hearings and issuing decisions on behalf of the Secretary regarding veterans' claims for benefits and services.
The Chairman ranks equivalent to a department Assistant Secretary and is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term, must be appointed as a Veterans Law Judge, and must be a licensed attorney in good standing in a state or territory.
The current official performing Chairman duties is Kenneth Arnold, the Board's Vice Chairman. The most recent confirmed Chairman was Jaime Areizaga-Soto of Virginia, who was nominated by President Joe Biden on April 25, 2022 and confirmed by the Senate on August 4, 2022. Although his term was not set to expire until 2028, he submitted his resignation on January 15, 2025, citing his mobilization for a two-year active-duty tour, leaving the Second Trump administration to name his successor.

## History

Beginning in 2011 and continuing up until the appointment of Chairman Mason in 2017 as the 10th Chairman and 4th politically appointed Chairman, the Board was led by several leaders appointed as the Board's Vice Chairman, which is appointed by the Secretary of VA. Although President Obama nominated former Chief Veterans Law Judge Constance B. Tobias to replace the retired James P. Terry. in the second session (2012) of the 112th Congress, as well as both the 1st (2013) and 2nd (2014) sessions of the 113th Congress, the Senate never acted on her nomination beyond a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in November 2013, and her nominations were returned to the President at the end of each session.
| Chairman name | Assumed office | Left office | Appointed by | Agency executive |
| John G. Pollard | 1934 | 1937 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Frank T. Hines |
| Robert L. Jarnagin | 1937 | 1957 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower | Frank T. Hines Omar Bradley Carl R. Gray Jr. Harvey V. Higley |
| James W. Stencil | 1957 | 1971 | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon | Sumner G. Whittier John S. Gleason Jr. William J. Driver Donald E. Johnson |
| Lawrence R. Pierce, Jr. | 1971 | 1974 | Richard Nixon | Donald E. Johnson |
| Sydney J. Shuman | 1974 | 1981 | Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter | Richard L. Roudebush Max Cleland |
| Kenneth E. Eaton | 1982 | 1991 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush | Robert Nimmo Harry N. Walters Thomas K. Turnage Edward Derwinski |
| Charles Cragin | March 1991 | March 1997 | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton | Ed Derwinski Jesse Brown |
| Eligah D. Clark | November 1998 | November 2004 | Bill Clinton George W. Bush | Togo D. West, Jr. Anthony Principi |
| James P. Terry | July 2005 | February 2011 | George W. Bush Barack Obama | Jim Nicholson James Peake Eric Shinseki |
| Steven L. Kelley Vice Chairman /Executive in Charge | February 2011 | June 2013 | Barack Obama | Eric Shinseki |
| Laura H. Eskenazi Vice Chairman / Executive in Charge | June 2013 | July 2016 | Barack Obama | Eric Shinseki Bob McDonald |
| Carol A. DiBattiste Vice Chairman / Executive in Charge | August 2016 | January 2017 | Barack Obama | Bob McDonald |
| David C. Spickler Vice Chairman / Executive in Charge | February 2017 | October 2017 | Donald Trump | David Shulkin |
| Cheryl L. Mason | November 8, 2017 | August 4, 2022 | Donald Trump Joe Biden | David Shulkin Robert Wilkie Denis McDonough |
| Kenneth A. Arnold Vice Chairman / Acting Chairman | August 4, 2022 | September 15, 2022 | Joe Biden | Denis McDonough |
| Jaime Areizaga-Soto | September 15, 2022 | January 15, 2025 | Joe Biden | Denis McDonough |
| Kenneth A. Arnold Vice Chairman | January 15, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump | TBD |
| Notes ↑ From 1934 through 1989, the Board was a part of the Veterans Administration, an independent executive agency, which was led by an administrator of the Veterans Administration. After the passage of the Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100–527, H.R. 3471, 102 Stat. 2637, enacted October 25, 1988), the administrator became the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 1 2 3 4 During this period, the Secretary designated the Vice Chairman to perform the duties of the Chairman, while there was the absence of a Senate-confirmed nominee. The person performing those duties were given the title Executive in Charge. ↑ Named Acting Chairman in August 2022, pending the swearing-in of General Areizaga-Soto. ↑ De-facto chairman upon the resignation of Chairman Areizaga-Soto on January 13, 2025 |||||