--- description: Secretary Eric Shinseki promises to restore confidence in the agency as whistleblowers accuse the agency of mistreating sick veterans title: Veteran Affairs Secretary Rejects Calls for Resignation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37738be0078dfdf9/69868e33cd68481b7f094847/488401987.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [politics](/tag/politics/) ## politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Veteran Affairs Secretary: I Won't Resign  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 7, 2014 2:06 PM CUT  Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki exits a shuttle while being given a tour of the VA Medical Center-Hampton, in Hampton, Virginia. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki exits a shuttle while being given a tour of the VA Medical Center-Hampton, in Hampton, Virginia.The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 7, 2014 2:06 PM CUT Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki [rejected](http://online.wsj.com/news/article%5Femail/SB10001424052702303417104579546390034288748-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNjEwNDYyWj "undefined") calls for his resignation Tuesday, amid allegations that veteran care facilities had neglected to treat patients in need of urgent care. Shinseki [told](http://online.wsj.com/news/article%5Femail/SB10001424052702303417104579546390034288748-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNjEwNDYyWj "undefined") the _Wall Street Journal_ that he would work toward improving communications with the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans advocacy group, which [called for Shinseki’s resignation](http://time.com/88390/american-legion-agrees-shinseki-should-go/ "undefined") on Monday. The Legion accused Shinseki of “poor oversight” after whistleblowers came forward with reports of a care facility in Phoenix shunting patients onto a secret waitlist, obscuring prolonged wait times that may have contributed to patient deaths. “I’m very sensitive to the allegations,” Shinseki told the _Journal_ _,_ promising that he would react to the conclusions of an independent investigation. \[[_WSJ_](http://online.wsj.com/news/article%5Femail/SB10001424052702303417104579546390034288748-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNjEwNDYyWj "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/90689/va-secretary-eric-shinseki/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/90689/va-secretary-eric-shinseki/"},"headline":"Veteran Affairs Secretary: I Won't Resign","datePublished":"2014-05-07T14:06:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:41:52.461Z","description":"Secretary Eric Shinseki rejected calls from veterans advocacy groups for his resignation Tuesday, after allegations of systematic neglect at veteran care facilities","url":"https://time.com/90689/va-secretary-eric-shinseki/","keywords":["politics","Health Care","Military","Veterans","Army","Scandal","whistleblower"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37738be0078dfdf9/69868e33cd68481b7f094847/488401987.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37738be0078dfdf9/69868e33cd68481b7f094847/488401987.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki Tours VA Medical Center-Hampton, in Hampton, Virginia","caption":"Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki Tours VA Medical Center-Hampton, in Hampton, Virginia","creditText":"The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/90689/va-secretary-eric-shinseki/","name":"Veteran Affairs Secretary: I Won't Resign"}}]}] ```