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. 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. 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. During his tenure with the VA, Selnick came under scrutiny for incurring travel costs to Washington, DC while living in California. Selnick was a senior adviser to Concerned Veterans of America from 2019 to 2024. He has contributed opinion pieces to several media outlets, including Fox News and
The Hill. In January 2025, Selnick was named Senior Advisor to
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. 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. 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."
April 2025 suspension On April 14, 2025, Selnick was suspended and placed on administrative leave. 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. A senior DOD official confirmed that Selnick was placed on leave for "unauthorized disclosures." They also indicated that they had not been officially informed why they were fired. == Personal life ==