White House: Obama ‘madder than hell’ about veterans care scandal

Reporting from Washington —  With pressure mounting over the Veterans Affairs scandal, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Sunday that President Obama was “madder than hell” over allegations of inadequate medical care for veterans.

But while McDonough voiced confidence in embattled VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s ability to resolve the matter, he stopped short of offering a full vote of confidence.

Shinseki is facing numerous calls to step down amid complaints about long waiting times for treatment at VA medical facilities in several cities and attempts by VA employees to cover up the delays.

“Gen. Shinseki continues to work this every single day,” McDonough told CBS News’ White House Correspondent Major Garrett on “Face the Nation.” “And he will continue to work these issues until they’re fixed.”

Asked by Garrett if Shinseki had the “full confidence” of the president, McDonough avoided the question, saying only that Obama expected the VA chief to continue working to address the problems.

McDonough emphasized Obama’s anger and said the president was personally engaged.

“The president is madder than hell, and I’ve got the scars to prove it,” he said. “We’re going to get to the bottom of those things, fix them and ensure that they don’t happen again.”

Last week, Shinseki testified before Congress that he was “mad as hell” over reports of excessive waiting times for veterans and falsification of records.

McDonough said the White House has deployed additional staff at the VA to examine whether the problems are a “series of isolated cases or whether this is a systemic issue that we need to address with wholesale reform.”

Later in the program, American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger, who has called for Shinseki to step down, expressed disappointment in the White House response so far.

“We realize that the administration has done a lot for the veterans, but that isn’t the issue,” Dellinger said. “The issue is we’re having veterans die waiting for the care that they’ve earned.... And we hold Secretary Shinseki to the highest standards here. He should be coming forward with the same leadership he showed in the military as a four-star general into the VA. And it just hasn’t happened.”