VA Deputy Secretary Dismissed

According to a statement by Robert Wilkie, department of Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary, James Byrne, VA deputy secretary, has been fired.

“Today, I dismissed VA Deputy Secretary James Byrne due to loss of confidence in Mr. Byrne’s ability to carry out his duties,” said Mr Wilkie in a statement.

Although Mr Wilkie did not give any further details regarding the decision, he noted that “this decision is effective immediately.”

According to CNBC, “Byrne’s termination came amid a controversy over how the VA had treated an allegation that a House committee advisor had been sexually harassed and assaulted by a man when she was visiting the VA Medical Center in Washington last fall.”

Mr Byrne is a former Marine infantry officer. He was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 81-11 in September of 2019. Prior to his confirmation, Mr Byrne served as acting secretary of the VA since August 2018 and was named general counsel of the agency a year prior.

Additionally, Mr Byrne was once the chief privacy officer at Lockheed Martin Corp, and has also worked as an international narcotics prosecutor for the Justice Department. —Julie Gould