Blunt calls on VA secretary to resign

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., is calling on Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to resign after McDonald compared long wait times at VA health care sites to waiting in line at a Disney amusement park.

“Dismissing wait times when veterans can often wait months for an appointment is negligent and a clear sign that new leadership is needed at the VA,” Blunt said.

In making the comments, McDonald said a veteran's health care experience is more important than time spent waiting for an appointment.

He later apologized.

"It was never my intention to suggest that I don't take our mission of serving veterans very seriously," McDonald said in a written statement. "If my comments Monday led any veterans to believe that I, or the dedicated workforce I am privileged to lead, don't take that noble mission seriously, I deeply regret that. Nothing could be further from the truth."

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