President Barack Obama announced the resignation Friday of the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, because of widespread problems plaguing the health care system for military veterans.
Obama said he accepted Shinseki’s resignation with “considerable regret” during a White House meeting. This comes just two days after a scathing internal report found broad and deep-seated problems in the sprawling health care system, which is struggling to keep up with the number of vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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VA Secretary Shinseki resigns
President Barack Obama announced the resignation Friday of the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, because of widespread problems plaguing the health care system for military veterans.@BarackObama: #VA Secretary #Shinseki resigning amid widespread troubles with #veterans' health care. pic.twitter.com/aXGxrW4cn1
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Shinseki, a retired four-star general who had overseen Veterans Affairs since the start of Obama’s presidency, had faced mounting calls to step down from congressional Republicans and Democrats.
The president named Sloan D. Gibson, currently the deputy VA secretary, to run the department on an interim basis while he searches for another secretary.
Report compiled with information from Reuters and The Associated Press.