Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said today that the abrupt firing of Deputy Secretary James Byrne was “a simple business decision” and that reports of any connection to mishandling a sexual harassment case were “categorically not true.”
Byrne’s firing was announced on Monday in a two-line statement that explained the removal was “due to loss of confidence” in his “ability to carry out his duties.” Wilkie hoped to satisfy public and congressional calls for an explanation by addressing the issue before a planned talk on veteran suicide prevention at the National Press Club in Washington.
“It was in the best interest of the organization and in the best interest of carrying on the reforms that have taken place,” Wilkie said. The secretary praised Byrne’s military service as a Marine Corps veteran and said, “Some people in the organization just don’t gel with the rest of the team.”
Wilkie said the firing was an exercise in accountability at all levels of the 370,000-employee federal agency, the second-largest in the nation.
Byrne served just under five months as deputy secretary and was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 11 by a bipartisan vote of 81-11. Before Byrne was named acting deputy in August, the position was vacant for 10 months.
Reports surfaced this week that Byrne was fired over the mishandling of a sexual harassment charge raised in September by Navy intelligence veteran Andrea Goldstein, who told the New York Times that she was slammed into a wall at a VA Medical Center in Washington by a man who pressed his body up against hers.
After Byrne was fired, Goldstein posted a story saying that her sexual assault claim was closed by the VA two weeks ago for “insufficient evidence,” and that Wilkie had written to House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, a California Democrat, saying that VA facilities were safe and warning that the “unsubstantiated claims” of those such as Goldstein could deter veterans from seeking the care they need.
Wilkie appeared to backtrack from the spirit of the letter to Takano when he said he wanted answers to the case for Goldstein, the VA, and all female veterans.
“I’m not satisfied with the resolution of the Goldstein case,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “Our women veterans have to know if our facilities are safe.” The secretary said he promised Takano in a Tuesday meeting that he would make a “renewed push to get answers” to help the VA and female veterans feel safe and welcome.
On Wednesday, Wilkie sought to underscore the importance of creating a safe space for female veterans and increase “parity” in their use of VA services, which stands at 41%, or 780,000 female veterans. By comparison, men use VA services at a rate of 48%.
The secretary said when he took office two years ago, only 25% of female veterans used VA services.
To further distance Byrne’s firing from the Goldstein case, Wilkie said the firing “just happened to occur when the story reemerged again.”
The three days of silence concerning the rationale for the firing made some members of Congress uneasy and concerned about veterans’ care.
“We need an explanation of his departure,” Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican and member of the VA House Committee, told the Washington Examiner in an email.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs has long been plagued with poor service and unacceptable conduct that is frankly inexcusable,” he wrote. “It is my hope that this latest staffing issue does not add to those problems.”
Wilkie said on Wednesday that “not an appointment has been missed, not an operation canceled,” as a result of the departure of the VA’s fourth deputy secretary in three years. However, the secretary also gave no timeline for filling the post.
The VA said on Tuesday that under President Trump, the agency has seen “more patients than ever before, more quickly than ever before.” The department said that in fiscal year 2019, the VA completed more than 59.9 million internal appointments, about 1.7 million more than the year before.
“James Byrne’s dismissal will not affect this unprecedented progress,” VA spokesperson Christina Mandreucci told the Washington Examiner by email on Tuesday.
Mandreucci added that the VA “compares favorably to the private sector” for access and quality of care. Wilkie said today that the VA made 6.8 million private-sector referrals last year.
