2 Veterans Affairs Officials Resign in Scandal’s Wake

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that two senior officials are stepping down next week as the agency looks to rebound from a scandal over concealing long wait times for veterans to get care.

The VA said the resignation of Will A. Gunn, the current General Counsel, and the replacement of Dr. Robert Jesse, the acting Under Secretary for Health, are “aimed at accelerating Veterans’ access to quality health care and rebuilding the trust of America’s Veterans.”

Jesse served as principal deputy under secretary for health beginning in 2010. In May, he assumed the new position amid reports veterans weren’t receiving adequate care. On July 2, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, who has been at the VA since 2013, will replace him.

“Dr. Carolyn Clancy is a leader and a real innovator when it comes to Veterans’ health care quality and safety,” Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson in a statement. “As we conduct our search for an Under Secretary for Health, there’s no one better to take on the issues we face. Dr. Clancy will be charged with the Department’s top priority – getting Veterans off of wait lists and in to see their doctors.”

Gunn’s resignation goes into effect July 3 when he will be replaced by the current principal deputy general counsel Tammy Kennedy. Gibson also announced that Dr. Jonathan Perlin, who served as the undersecretary for health under President George W. Bush, would be returning as a senior advisor to the Acting Secretary.

“We’re pleased to welcome this exceptional leader back to VA,” Gibson added. “I look forward to the contributions of Dr. Perlin who is recognized for his national healthcare leadership roles, as part of the VA team as we continue our work towards accelerating access to care and rebuilding trust with Veterans.”

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki under fire in May.

“The only way today’s VA personnel actions can be viewed as positive developments is if the department fills the vacancies with leaders who put veterans first—not the VA bureaucracy—focus on solving problems instead of downplaying or hiding them, and understand that taxpayer funded organizations such as VA have a responsibility to provide information to Congress and the public rather than stonewalling them,” Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, who chairs the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, said in a statement.