Udall Is First Democratic Senator to Call for Shinseki's Departure

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall on Wednesday became the first Democratic senator to call for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

Udall, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued his charge on Twitter after the agency's inspector general released an interim report finding widespread problems at the Phoenix VA center:



First elected in 2008, Udall is facing a tough re-election bid against GOP Rep. Cory Gardner.

Republicans also intensified their calls for Shinseki to resign after the report was released on Wednesday, including Florida Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Miller also said Attorney General Eric Holder should launch a criminal investigation into the VA.

The report by Richard J. Griffin, the department's acting inspector general, found that investigators had "substantiated serious conditions" at the Phoenix center.

"While our work is not complete, we have substantiated that significant delays in access to care negatively impacted the quality of care at this medical facility," Griffin wrote in the 35-page report.

Miller said the report confirmed that "wait time schemes and data manipulation are systemic throughout VA and are putting veterans at risk in Phoenix and across the country."

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