As the scandal engulfing the Veterans Administration grows, calls for the resignation of Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki are mounting. However, on May 22 Shinseki insisted he will not resign and fully intends to stay in office.
The VA chief told reporters that “this is not the first time” he’s been in the hot seat and he intends to stick around and address allegations that the VA mismanaged the healthcare for millions of veterans, some of whom died waiting for care.
“I came here to do one thing, which is to take care of veterans and families,” Shinseki told the media Thursday. “We’ve run hard for five years; I think we have good things to show for it.”
But voices are growing for the VA chief to resign over these massive failures. On May 5, for instance, the head of the American Legion, Daniel Dellinger, called for Shinseki’s firing. Shortly thereafter, several Republicans joined Dellinger in calling for the VA chief’s resignation.
Since then the pressure has only grown despite Obama’s expression of confidence in his VA chief and even some Democrats began calling for Shinseki’s head.
The first two Democrats to call for Shinseki’s resignation were Representatives John Burrow and David Scott of Georgia.
The latest Democrat to call for Shinseki to step down is Senate candidate Alison Grimes of Kentucky.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com