WASHINGTON: The nation’s largest veterans organization and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday joined the growing calls for the ouster of President Donald Trump’s Veterans Affairs chief, under fire after a government audit found he acted unprofessionally, if not unethically, in the handling of a congressional aides allegation of sexual assault at a VA hospital.
It is unfair to expect accountability from the nearly 400,000 VA employees and not demand the same from its top executive. It is clear that Secretary Robert Wilkie failed to meet the standard that the veteran who came forward with the complaint deserved, the American Legion’s national commander, James W. Bill Oxford, said in a statement. He urged Wilkie and several other top VA officials cited in the report to resign because of their violation of trust of the agency’s commitment to not tolerate harassment of any kind.
Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wilkie has lost the trust and confidence to serve, and he must immediately resign.” She said Wilkie has not only been derelict in his duty to combat sexual harassment, but has been complicit in the continuation of a VA culture that tolerates this epidemic.
Their demands came a day after five major veterans groups expressed similar outrage and sought Wilkie’s firing in the final weeks of the Trump administration. Those organizations were Veterans of Foreign Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS and the Modern Military Association of America, and they said they had lost confidence that Wilkie could can effectively lead the department, which is responsible for the care of 9 million veterans.
An investigation by the Veterans Affairs inspector general on Thursday concluded that Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit Andrea Goldstein, a senior policy adviser to Democratic Rep. Mark Takano, chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, after she alleged in September 2019 that a man at the VA medical center in Washington, D.C., had physically assaulted her.
The inspector general found that Wilkies disparaging comments about Goldstein, a Navy veteran, as a repeat complainer as well as the overall tone he set influenced his staff to spread negative information about her while ignoring known problems of harassment at the facility.
Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. For that reason, Missal said he could not conclude whether Wilkie had violated government policies or laws, allegedly by personally digging into the womans past. Wilkie denied wrongdoing.
Weve had our concerns about Wilkies leadership throughout the pandemic and this IG report really cements the fact that the VA is not being led with integrity, said Jeremy Butler, chief executive of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. That calls for an immediate change.
The report on Thursday drew widespread concern from lawmakers from both parties about VAs leadership, with Takano the first to call for Wilkies resignation. Concerned Veterans for America, a conservative group who supported Wilkie when he became VA secretary in 2018, chided Wilkie and his team, stressing that VA leaders should always put the veteran and the integrity of the institution ahead of themselves.
AMVETS national commander Jan Brown said she found it unacceptable that VA would dismiss known problems facing women who receive care at its facilities.
Women veterans already hesitate to use VA services for a number of reasons and we need a Secretary who will make our community feel welcomed, she said. We strongly disapprove of any VA official that took part in the scheme to wreck the credibility of a victim.
The case of Goldstein, who agreed to be publicly identified, was ultimately closed by the inspector generals office and Justice Department earlier this year due to a lack of enough evidence to bring charges.
Wilkie is Trumps second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018. A former Pentagon undersecretary, he presided over the nations largest hospital system that has seen continuing improvement and veterans satisfaction since a 2014 scandal involving lengthy waiting times for medical appointments.
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rebuild trust in the VA when he takes office on Jan. 20. He has selected Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obamas White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary.
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