I would be surprised if that were the case. It's not ethical in my opinion, everybody that is eligible should be given the same fair opportunity regardless of that person's connection with the person working in the VA. That being said, I would go HR or IG with a compliant if you have a solid case.

Regardless of agency it isn't unheard of for a Supervisor or leadership to amend a PD for a position they are trying to fill. The bigger problem is when you have positions with a PD that hasn't been touched in 15 years and somebody gets hired for something that is completely different than the expectation from the people in the office. Updating a PD is very normal. Is the new PD content needed for the job? What pertinent information was intentionally omitted? Is the work force being re-structured to meet new goals/standards and the position is changing to meet those goals/standards. PD's aren't written in stone. If you legitimately think you have a grievance you can go to HR but be sure your complaint in ironclad and that you have all of the context and information because you'll end up sky lining yourself.