From 2001 to 2009, Selnick was an appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Selnick was appointed the Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for the Department of Veterans Affairs in July 2004.[3][4] He also served as VA liaison to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Special Assistant to the Secretary, and Associate Dean, VA Learning University.[5][6]
Selnick was a Commissioner on the Commission on Care, which was established by Congress to examine how VA can better deliver health care to veterans.[5]
From 2017 to 2018, Selnick worked as the Veterans Affairs Advisor on the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. From 2018 to 2019, he served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).[7] During his tenure with the VA, Selnick came under scrutiny for incurring travel costs to Washington, DC while living in California.[8]
Selnick was a senior adviser to Concerned Veterans of America from 2019 to 2024.[9][10] He has contributed opinion pieces to several media outlets, including Fox News and The Hill.[11][12]
In January 2025, Selnick was named Senior Advisor to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.[13] After temporarily serving as Performing the Duties of (PTDO) Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, he was named deputy chief of staff to the Secretary.[14][15]
In February 2025, Selnick sought to remove transgender people from the U.S. military, stating that "medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service."[16]
On April 14, 2025, Selnick was suspended and placed on administrative leave.[17] At the time of his suspension, Reuters reported that Selnick was suspended as part of a Pentagon investigation into leaks of classified and sensitive information.[18] A senior DOD official confirmed that Selnick was placed on leave for "unauthorized disclosures."[10]
On April 19, 2025, Selnick released a joint statement with Dan Caldwell and Colin Carroll, who were also fired, calling attacks against them "baseless" and expressing their continued support for the Trump-Vance administration.[19] They also indicated that they had not been officially informed why they were fired.[20]
