The White House acknowledged Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald was wrong to falsely claim that he served in the U.S. military’s special operations forces, but said the slip shouldn’t effect his leadership of the embattled agency.
“He is somebody who understands firsthand the sacrifice that our men and women in uniform make on a regular basis,” said Press Secretary Josh Earnest. “He's also somebody who understands firsthand about why what he said about his service was wrong and that certainly is why it was appropriate for him to apologize.”
McDonald made the claim in late January as he was touring a rundown Los Angeles neighborhood during a nationwide count of homeless veterans, Huffington Post reported Monday. He was accompanied by a CBS-TV news crew, which recorded an exchange between McDonald and a homeless man who told McDonald he had served in special forces.
McDonald told the site he had “no excuse,” and had not served in the special forces. The White House said he apologized for the remarks, which he told Huffington Post that he had “reacted spontaneously ... and reacted wrongly,” when the homeless veteran claimed that he had served in the special forces.
Earnest said McDonald’s mistake should not “interfere with his ability to continue to lead the fight for our veterans and to continue to implement the kinds of reforms at the VA that are still critical to making sure that our veterans are getting the benefits that they deserve.”
Earnest did not say whether Obama is satisfied that McDonald is trustworthy, but said he’s pleased with the progress McDonald has made in reforming the agency.
“This is a task that generations of VA secretaries have tried to accomplish,” Earnest said. “Many of them have made progress and the president is pleased with the progress that Secretary McDonald has made so far.”
Earnest noted the former Proctor & Gamble executive has private sector management experience and a personal commitment to the issues.
“Even after he left military service, Secretary McDonald was committed, even using his free time, to try to support military families, our veterans and their families,” Earnest said. “ think everybody recognizes that he's got a very difficult task in front of him. And that's why his skill and personal commitment to these issues are so important to his success.”
Obama last June nominated the West Point graduate and former CEO of Proctor & Gamble, to replace VA Secretary Eric Shinseki who resigned in late May amid reports of widespread problems within the Veterans Health Agency, including allegations that some veterans died while waiting for care.
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