Turmoil at VA continues as two more senior officials resign

Robert Jesse, acting undersecretary for health, and Will Gunn, the department's general counsel, will be leaving their positions at the troubled agency.

The New York Times: 2 V.A. Officials To Leave Posts As Agency Seeks To Remake Itself And Rebuild Trust
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that two senior officials would be leaving their posts as the department's acting secretary moved to remake the agency and rebuild trust amid a scandal over falsified waiting lists that were used at many hospitals to hide delays faced by veterans. The two officials are Dr. Robert L. Jesse, who has been serving as the department's acting under secretary for health, and Will A. Gunn, the department's general counsel (Oppel, 6/25).

The Wall Street Journal: Two More Top Officials Depart Beleaguered VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the departures of two top officials Wednesday, leaving more leadership holes at the beleaguered department. Sloan Gibson, acting VA secretary, accepted the resignation of Will Gunn, the department's general counsel, the VA said in a news release. Meanwhile, Robert Jesse, currently in charge of health care, finished his four-year term at the VA and is leaving the department, the VA said. Mr. Gunn's departure comes a little more than a month after members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs questioned why the general counsel took more than a week to order employees to preserve records that might be involved in a then-brewing scandal surrounding VA health care (Kesling, 6/25).

Associated Press: 2 Top Veterans Affairs Officials Leaving Jobs 
Jesse has been acting undersecretary for health since May 16, when Robert Petzel resigned under pressure months before he was set to retire. He was principal deputy undersecretary for health since 2010, and has a medical degree and a Ph.D. in biophysics. Gunn, a retired Air Force colonel and military lawyer, has been VA general counsel since May 2009 (Fram, 6/25).

Reuters: Two Top Veterans Affairs Officials Leaving Agency, VA Says 
The undersecretary for health leads the programs of the Veterans' Health Administration, which runs the sprawling VA health system. Outrage erupted when it became known that officials hid that veterans were being made to wait for lengthy periods to get primary medical care and that in some cases those delays led to deaths. At a hearing earlier this month, Jesse had to defend at a hearing of the House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee his timing in informing lawmakers about an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease at a veterans' hospital (Felsenthal, 6/25).