Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie has been nominated to lead the agency, according to a surprise announcement by President Donald Trump on Friday.

Wilkie, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., has served as the acting director since late March when former director David Shulkin was forced out of the position. Wilkie previously served as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness for the Department of Defense.

Trump made his announcement during a press conference Friday afternoon. He did not tell Wilkie before making the announcement, according to news reports.

“Acting Secretary Wilkie, who by the way has done an incredible job at the VA, 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, according to reporters at the press conference.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, was thrilled to learn of Wilkie's nomination. Wilkie had previously worked as a senior advisor to Tillis, directing him on veterans' issues and the committee's legislative priorities.

“Robert holds pragmatic and commonsense views on modernizing the agency and upholding its core mission of providing veterans with the best health care, resources, and support possible,” Tillis said. “He understands that while the VA Choice Program was born out of necessity, nothing beats the value of a veteran receiving world-class care from highly qualified medical professionals at the VA. Robert will be a great VA Secretary, and I look forward to getting him confirmed.”

Wilkie has more than 20 years of experience at the national and international level.

During the George W. Bush administration, Wilkie served both Robert Gates and Donald Rumsfeld as Assistant Secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2009.

Prior to his first job at the Pentagon, Wilkie was the Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and a senior director of the National Security Council under Condoleezza Rice.

Wilkie is an officer in the Air Force Reserve, assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff. Before joining the Air Force, Wilkie served in the Navy Reserve with the Joint Forces Intelligence Command, Naval Special Warfare Group Two and Office of Naval Intelligence. Among his awards and decorations, Wilkie received the Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, which is the highest civilian award of the Department.