“I’ve Run a Large Company, Sir. What Have You Done? ” VA. Secretary Asks a Former War Veteran

Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman is a veteran who served in both of the Iraq wars; with that being said a certain level of respect needs to be acknowledged to anyone who has nobly served their country.

Veteran Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald did not get the memo when he questioned the war veteran and current Republican lawmaker by saying, “I’ve run a large company, sir. What have you done?” after the two entered an argument regarding the cost of a local hospital in Virginia.

While Coffman did not feel that the hearing was the right place to respond and later gave a statement regarding McDonald, “I have never run a federal agency that tolerates corruption the way the VA has. I’ve never built a hospital that’s years behind schedule and hundreds of millions over budget. And I’ve never been a shill for inept bureaucrats who allowed American heroes to die on a medical waiting list.”

Coffman then went on to question McDonald for citing its legal efforts to defend the Denver hospital project, which was considered a major accomplishment.

“How is that a success?” stated Coffman who went on to say, “You lost that case on every single point for the hospital in my district that is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. I think that that’s just characteristic of your glossing over the extraordinary problems confronted by your department. This is a department mired in bureaucratic incompetence and corruption. McDonald said he was offended by Coffman’s remarks and noted that he had only been on the job for six months. You’ve been here longer than I have. If there’s a problem in Denver, I think you own it more than I do.”

McDonald did not take Coffman’s response well and said that Coffman has only been on the job for six months.

Photo By: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta