VA Secretary McDonald says employees who are being fired must be given due process

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald says the agency is in the process of holding employees accountable for failing to properly do their jobs amid a scandal about long wait times for patients and other problems within the VA, but he is declining to say how many are being fired and who they are.

McDonald spoke with reporters while visiting with veterans and employees at the Memphis VA hospital Thursday.

The new VA secretary said employees who are being fired are allowed due process under the law, but the agency is working as quickly as it can to go through the process. He said it would be disrespectful to those employees to disclose their names.

When asked how many employees have lost their jobs, he said that number was not relevant.