Calls for Shinseki's ouster grew after a report found VA facilities concealing wait times. | AP Photos Dems join GOP in Shinseki pile-on

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki’s support on Capitol Hill crumbled on Wednesday as members of his own party deserted him in the aftermath of a highly critical inspector general report that found “systemic” problems at VA medical facilities.

Within just hours of the report’s release, the number of Democrats calling for Shinseki’s resignation more than doubled. By Wednesday evening, more than a dozen congressional Democrats publicly called for his ouster, joining a growing number of influential Republicans.


For now, President Barack Obama isn’t calling on Shinseki to step down.

( Also on POLITICO: VA IG finds 'systemic' problems)

Among those pushing for his dismissal are the Senate’s most vulnerable Democrats, whose reelection bids are critical to the party maintaining control of the chamber next year. Democratic Sens. Mark Udall of Colorado, John Walsh of Montana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina released separate statements saying the secretary must go, reflecting pressure to break ranks with the Obama administration during an election year. Late Wednesday night, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) added their voices to the chorus of Democrats asking for a shake-up in leadership at the VA.

“The systemic problems at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are so entrenched that they require new leadership to be fixed,” Udall said in a statement. “Secretary Shinseki must step down.”

“The Inspector General’s report confirms the worst of the allegations against the VA and its failure to deliver timely care to veterans. It is time for President Obama to remove Secretary Shinseki from office,” Walsh said.

( Also on POLITICO: McCain ups ante on Shinseki)

Hagan said “we can no longer put our faith in the current VA leadership’s ability to fix these problems.”

Senate Democrats plan to address accountability at the VA next week when they return to Washington.

The review released Wednesday found at least 1,700 veterans waiting for health care at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs medical facility were not included on the facility’s wait list, and patients there waited an average of 115 days for their first appointments. The probe also documented several schemes used at VA facilities intended to conceal wait times and concluded that the problems are national in scope.

The revelations increased the pressure on Obama as Republicans seek to portray his administration as dysfunctional. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough briefed Obama on the report. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama “found the findings extremely troubling.”

( Also on POLITICO: Burr: No apology to vets' groups)

Shinseki said he is directing his organization to immediately assist the hundreds of veterans in Phoenix that are waiting for care and is rapidly accelerating outreach to veterans.

“I have reviewed the interim report, and the findings are reprehensible to me, to this Department, and to Veterans,” Shinseki said in a statement that offered no indication that he would step down.

The Democratic criticism wasn’t limited to the Senate. Democratic Reps. Scott Peters of California, Bruce Braley of Iowa and Ron Barber of Arizona also called for his dismissal.

Peters and Barber are facing tough challenges from Republicans and Braley is running for an open Senate seat in Iowa.

Another Democrat with a tough road to reelection, Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, will hold a press conference on the VA on Thursday. And Mary Landrieu’s campaign issued a statement highlighting the Louisianan’s support for a House-passed bill that would allow the VA to fire those involved in the scandal.

The Democratic response only added to growing criticisms from the GOP.

Three Republicans who are influential on military issues — House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — said Shinseki must step aside. The trio had avoided calling for Shinseki’s ouster but were swayed by the damning IG report that found scheduling problems — first reported in Arizona — appeared to be of national scope.

McKeon said that under Shinseki, the VA’s problems “have grown beyond what this nation can bear,” recommending that the secretary should resign “both as an example for other VA leaders and to lay the groundwork for new leadership to meet with success.” Miller said Shinseki “appears completely oblivious to the severity of the health care challenges facing the department” and should “resign immediately.”

“VA needs a leader who will take swift and decisive action to discipline employees responsible for mismanagement, negligence and corruption that harms veterans while taking bold steps to replace the department’s culture of complacency with a climate of accountability,” Miller said. “Sec. Shinseki has proven time and again he is not that leader. That’s why it’s time for him to go.”

Perhaps most problematic for the VA: Its difficulties delivering quick care to veterans aren’t limited to Phoenix. The watchdog found that “inappropriate scheduling practices are a systemic problem nationwide.” And in a sign that bad news from the VA could drip for months, the IG announced that it is widening its probe to 42 VA facilities and is coordinating with the Department of Justice if criminal violations are found.

The IG report might not be exhaustive enough for Congress. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday urged Shinseki to allow for an independent audit of the VA’s scheduling problems. Other senators, including Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, have suggested the FBI should investigate allegations against the VA.

Several members of GOP congressional leadership had previously called on Shinseki to resign. Speaker John Boehner said last week he is getting “closer” to calling for Shinseki’s ouster but did not join his chairmen in backing a change of leadership.

Still, the critical comments from lawmakers in both parties marked a new phase of the scandal.

During a hearing Wednesday evening on the alleged destruction of Phoenix wait lists, Miller and other members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee were deeply critical of VA officials.

“Ma’am, veterans died. Get us the answers please,” Miller told Joan Mooney, VA’s assistant secretary for legislative affairs. “Until VA understands that we’re deadly serious, you can expect us to be over your shoulder every single day.”

Miller’s committee had threatened to subpoena VA officials if they did not appear at Wednesday’s hearing.

The fallout from the VA has also created rifts between top Veterans Affairs Senate Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina and Veterans Service Organizations. Burr has condemned those groups for not doing more to oust Shinseki, and despite the outraged response from VSO leaders, he’s stood by that sentiment this week.

The VA scandal isn’t just rumbling through Congress, but is also making waves on the campaign trail. Republican groups began hitting Democrats for not calling for Shinseki’s ouster and the RNC put in motion robocalls demanding that Democrats pursue an independent investigation.

One ad from Crossroads GPS hit Begich on Wednesday morning.

“Veterans died waiting for care that never came,” a narrator says. “Sen. Mark Begich sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee.”

The IG report released Wednesday stopped short of confirming that narrative.

“We are not reporting the results of our clinical reviews in this interim report on whether any delay in scheduling a primary care appointment resulted in a delay in diagnosis or treatment, particularly for those veterans who died while on a waiting list,” the report said.

James Hohmann, Carrie Budoff Brown and Manu Raju contributed to this report.