Adviser: Obama 'Madder Than Hell' Over VA Scandal

Denis McDonough says he's got the scars to prove it
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2014 11:45 AM CDT
Adviser: Obama 'Madder Than Hell' Over VA Scandal
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough speaks at the National Security Agency on Friday, March 28, 2014, at Fort Meade, Maryland.   (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough today summarized the commander-in-chief's feelings on the VA scandal pretty pointedly: "The president is madder than hell, and I’ve got the scars to prove it, given the briefings I’ve given the president. Nobody is more outraged about this problem, right now," he tells CBS, "than the president of the United States."

His comments echo VA Secretary Eric Shinseki's last week, notes Politico, when he told the Senate he was "mad as hell." (Politico notes that Newt Gingrich was equally blunt today when asked whether Shinseki's head should roll: "Yes.") Continued McDonough: "The president’s demanding that we get to the bottom of the exact allegations that you're talking about as it relates to whether veterans are getting the timely access to care that they have earned." (More Department of Veterans Affairs stories.)

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