The Texas senator said that McDonald's comments comparing VA wait times with Disneyland showed a "fundamental lack of respect for the veterans he's been tasked to serve."
The Washington Examiner,
in an earlier report, quoted McDonald on the length of wait times for veterans: "When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line, or what's important? What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience."
After those comments, McDonald appeared to apologize in a statement,
reported by Stars and Stripes.
"It was never my intention to suggest that I don't take our mission of serving veterans very seriously."
Cruz, a former GOP presidential candidate, said that McDonald's Disney comment proved him incapable of leading the VA.
"There can be no doubt there is deep corruption within the VA, and we should not rest until it is rooted out, and our heroes receive the care that they have earned," Cruz said in the Examiner report.
"Secretary McDonald's comments make clear that he is not the man to ensure that happens," Cruz said.
Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican, agreed with Cruz's critique of McDonald.
"This is yet another misstep of many with respect to the treatment and care of our veterans," Blunt said,
according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"It's time for a change."
The Disney organization also responded to McDonald's comments.
The Independent Journal reported that a Disney spokesperson said the company takes wait times "very seriously."
The Disney spokesperson questioned why McDonald would use Disney as an example, pointing out that the company's namesake Walt Disney was a U.S. Navy officer and his brother, Roy Disney, was an ambulance driver in World War I.
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