A senior Republican in the Senate wants the head of Veterans Affairs to step down.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) called on Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald to resign following what Blunt felt was an insensitive comment about long wait times at the VA.
McDonald compared the time it takes to get medical care at the VA to long lines at Disneyland.
“When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important?” McDonald said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. “What’s important is what’s your satisfaction with the experience,” he continued.
Blunt is the first lawmaker to call for McDonald’s job since he made the comment to a group of reporters Monday.
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Critics say McDonald’s comments were out of tune since there have been many veterans who have died while waiting for VA care.
Blunt said McDonald is “right out of Never Never Land.”
“I call on him to resign because it’s clear he cannot prioritize getting our veterans the health care they deserve and have earned in a timely manner. Dismissing wait times when veterans can often wait months for an appointment is negligent and a clear sign that new leadership is needed at the VA,” Blunt said in a statement.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, (R-Wis.) called McDonald’s comment “disgusting” but did not call for his resignation.
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McDonald has been at the helm of the VA for two years, since former Secretary Eric Shinseki was pushed out of the position due to long waiting times for vets in need of care.
[graphiq id=”8Xif5frL9wF” title=”Robert A. McDonald” width=”500″ height=”730″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/8Xif5frL9wF” link=”https://www.graphiq.com” link_text=”Visualization by Graphiq”]
(H/T CNN)
AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz
