martha: i think whisper having a great ol' time, whether he likes it or not. have a great weekend, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. jenna: we'll take up right where they left off with a fox news alert. embattled va secretary eric shinseki just met with president obama at the white house after addressing the scandal head-on in a speech to a service organization for homeless veterans just a few hours ago. it has been a fast-moving story this morning, really all week long. great to see you this friday. i'm jenna lee. >> i'm eric shawn in for jon scott. as 100 members of congress are calling for his resignation after the scathing report found systemic scheduling problems masking long delays for medical care up to six months. a six-month wait for a doctor and so much more. shinseki calls those, unforgivable, even though he has been in charge for years now.

he is vowing to clean house, firing the leadership of the phoenix va and offering this apology. >> given the facts i now know i apologize as the senior leader of the department of veterans affairs. i extend an apology to the people who i care most deeply about. that is the veterans of this great country, to their families and loved ones who i have been honored to serve. jenna: with so many strong reactions this week coming from capitol hill, and far outside the beltway over the mounting va scandal, many are asking how long shinseki can stay at his post? >> i went through -- i told the world i'm willing to put my life on the line and die for you. now, our guys went over. they have left body parts. some of them never made it back. some of them are here now and their souls are still there. we have the audacity to turn our back on them. >> when i see somebody that don't understand the military, that don't respect this

military, that don't respect the people who laid their very lives on the line for america it, really aggravates me. i think every congressman, every senator, all the people up at 1600, come on through and get this thing taken care of. jenna: speaking of 1600, senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goler is live on the west lawn of the white house with more. so, wendell, what are we hearing about the meeting? >> reporter: the president told live with "kelly and michael" in a previously-planned interview he planned to have a serious conversation with va secretary shinseki whether he can fix the problem. mr. obama, doesn't think the embattled secretary would want to stay on if he didn't think he could fix the problem. in a conference with homeless vets, shinseki said he believes the problem can be fixed. he apologized to vets, congress and the american people for not realizing earlier how widespread it is. >> i can't explain the lack of integrity amongst some of the leaders of our health care

facilities. this is something i rarely encountered during 30 years in uniform. and so i will not defend it because it is indefensible. but i can take responsibility, responsibility for it. and i do. >> reporter: shinseki announced he has fired the leadership of the phoenix va hospital. he vowed to use his authority against anyone else who used improper scheduling activities. he also eliminated all performance awards for 2014, throughout the va system. meanwhile it is not just republicans calling for shinseki to step down. there are about two dozen democrats in the house who say he should go, including his former deputy, now illinois congresswoman tammy duckworth. there are 10 democrats in the senate calling for him to go. here is congressman tim ryan of ohio. >> i just think, as great as mr. shinseki has been in all the service he has done for the united states, i think it is

time for a change now. we need a new set of eyes on this problem. >> reporter: shinseki has been meeting with members of congress. he has spoken to leaders of more than a dozen veterans groups in an effort to keep his job. jenna. jenna: wendell, thank you very much. we appreciate it. more from the white house. news as we get it. let's bring in wes lowery, political reporter for "the washington post" written on this topic. we've done a lot of reporting over the week, wes, as it is one of the big stories. wendell pointed out 100 different lawmakers called for the resignation of shinseki of the as you point out, the key leadership in congress has not. why? >> there is certainly a split between the leadership and rank-and-file. rank-and-file on both side at this point, democrats and republicans calling for shinseki to step down. the leadership has held back. part of that, when you're a member of leadership you have to in some ways stay above the fray. speaker boehner has talked about not wanting to add to the distraction some of these resignation calls are in fact not helping necessarily to solve

the deeper problems here. leadership of both republicans and democrats agree these are massive problems. you have veterans waiting months to receive basic services. you had a facility essentially masking these long wait types. i think everyone agrees this needs to be solved. there is a question if it becomes this kind of witch-hunt, if people begin to believe getting shinseki to resign solves the problem which i believe the leadership knows it is not the case. there is much deeper problem than that. jenna: the question comes next, how do you solve the deeper problem if everyone can recognize it. i'm getting news. the president will speak 10 minutes from now. he will presumably speak about the meeting he had with secretary shinseki. our viewers should stay tuned for that. what do you think transpired in this meeting, wes? we haven't heard a ton from the white house this week on this issue. what would you anticipate? >> one of two things of the main, the lingering question as you said earlier, when will this resignation come? not really a question it will come.

shinseki was reporting back to the president today. he is has his own investigation into the facilities how widespread these problems are are. we know there issue in phoenix and inspector general said earlier this week it is a broader problem. the question remains will eric shinseki resign this week sometime. will he resign today? has he offered his resignation? will he remain in this position in order to finish the report in some ways he can fall on the sword. we know there is more bad news coming and as they investigate and probe further. to draw a little parallel the way kathleen sebelius stayed in office all the way through rollout of health care despite the fact it was massive problems, despite the fact there were calls for her resignation, she stayed until the job was done so a new person could come in with a clean slate. so the question is, does eric shinseki resign now, or, do we wait until a full report is issued that we find out more bad news, we find more terrible statistics about wait types and then he transitions out? so very interested to see what the president says today.

jenna: it's a bigger question because people right now are waiting for health care. veterans are waiting for health care. so the bigger question perhaps in some of these politics, wes, for them, does it seem anybody has a plan? have you talked to anyone on the hill that says, listen, we actually have a plan and we're going to put this in place and it will be smoother? in the meantime while we figure out and get all these reports together? >> we haven't heard any cohesive plan from anyone on the hill. people here with shinseki vowing we'll get the solve the problem. president vows we'll get veterans care they need. no one should be waiting. that raises prospect of now is not the time for eric shinseki to resign. when you have massive overmaul of the department like that, would it make it potentially harder to correct some of the problems in the short term because of kind of bureaucratic overhaul that would require? would it make some sense at least eric shinseki comfortable in the position he is in and hat

to make some short early t changes that clearly need to be made in those facilities then once those immediate pressing problems are addressed then have him transition out? there is politics involved, calling for resignations that type of thing. at end of the day we have veterans that need services health care and waiting. what is the best, efficient way to get it to them as quickly as possible and inclear what the answer is. jenna: we'll see if the president has anything to say seven minutes from now. always enjoyed speaking to you at "the boston globe." great to see you at "washington post." look back to have you more frequently. >> anytime. appreciate i. jenna: montel williams had amazing interview with neil cavuto on wednesday. we played a little bit of sound at the beginning of our show. montel williams will be back with neil at 4:00 p.m. eastern. one of the best interviews. montel certainly feels the issue because he is veteran himself. don't miss that. 4:00 p.m. eastern time. eric. >> interesting to get his take

what the president will say six minutes from now. meanwhile hillary clinton out with a brand new book and addressing one of those explosive issues, that is benghazi ahead of a presidential run. mrs. clinton sounding a defiant tone surrounding a controversial aspect of her time as secretary of state. chief political correspondent carl cameron with details. carl, what does she say? >> reporter: excerpts are automatically being released to hype it. this morning it happened as top members hillary clinton's 2016 sort of presidential campaign in waiting were gathering at a think tank here in boss ton, in d.c., founded by former staffers of president clinton called the third way. the topic was defending the former secretary of state's handling of the benghazi attacks. a variety of other national security matters. so the excerpts leaked with remarkable convene timing for clinton who remains defiant about it. about benghazi she wrote, quote, those who exploit this tragedy

over and over as political tool minimize the sacrifice of those who served our country. i will not be part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead americans. it is just plain wrong and unworthy of our great country. those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me. clinton will be called to testify before the newly impaneled benghazi select investigative committee but her supporters this morning said that actually didn't come up. the campaign as, in its waiting stage has top surrogate coordinators, rapid response people, fact-checking operation, big fund-raisers, super pacs and staff ready at virtually every level. she met secretly with president obama for lunch yesterday at the white house. that prompted white house press pool to complain about their lack of transparency. had not appeared on any schedules. no one knew it would happen. that followed the president's summit on sports concussions which mrs. clinton knows about, having suffered a severe

concussion in 2012, that resulted in a clot near the brain and lengthy recovery and ongoing questions about her health. the book comes out, all of this stuff clear indication she is moving closer and closer to the presidential campaign. once she is done with the upcoming book tour she is committed to going out and campaigning for democrats close to the end of the year. when the calendar turns to 2015 and 2016 is coming on. >> they have already building a first floor after presidential run. >> reporter: you got it. >> jenna. >> i didn't mean to be in mexico and it was an accident. there was no way do a u-turn. they were taking my guns, my truck and all my possessions. i said, take everything you want, let me go back to america. they put me under arrest and that was pretty much it. jenna: the voice of sergeant andrew tahmooressi, telling greta he is still hopeful despite all of that. his mother does all she can to

try to get her son back on american soil. with signatures on online petition urging his release. william la jeunesse live from the l.a. bureau with more on this. >> reporter: president obama has not publicly spoken about sergeant tahmooressi and secretary john kerry has not asked mexico to release the marine. that lack of high level political pressure angered and disappointed some of his supporters including his mother who has begun gathering signatures to force the white house to respond to the situation. right now she is roughly 18,000 signatures short of the required 100,000. and while the petition has no force and not unlike writing your congressman and getting a form letter in return she hopes it elevates the issue and raises political pressure on mexico to release her son. meanwhile the legal case moves forward. next week tahmooressi can present list case to a federal judge, who will decide his fate. experts say the totality of the circumstances here surrounding

his case show he had no criminal intent. he just returned from tijuana after a day of drinking and eating. he is unfamiliar with san diego having just moved there, confusing traffic signs plus he openly declared his weapons at customs and even called 911 for help. those actions, though he did have firearms suggest a mistake, not a crime. >> here is what is giving us hope. i will read this. mexican federal code allows for the absence of intent to be used as exculpatory evidence to any possible penalty. >> reporter: so the question is this, based on that evidence, could the judge release him next week? it is possible, jenna but typically it takes much longer. on the other hand, this is not your typical case. jenna? jenna: clearly is not. william, thank you very much. we'll continue to watch that as it develops. meantime back to fox news alert. we're awaiting a statement from the president. we just learned he will be making a statement regarding his meeting with the embattled of

secretary of veterans affairs, eric shinseki. that meeting just wound up just a little over 15 minutes ago. a short meeting about a half hour as we understand it at the white house with the president. he had henry is live at the white house in the briefing room. ed, if you could at the end of this very busy week set the table for us with the president coming out soon. >> reporter: sure of the stated purpose of that meeting with secretary shinseki for him to deliver this report, audit, if you will what has gone wrong at the va the posture from secretary shinseki this morning we should note is as we try to read the tea leaves he spoke to a homeless veterans group here in washington and seems somewhat defiant to say he wants to stick it out, taking responsibility we should note and saying this was much more systemic than he first thought. so that sounds like someone who did not want to resign. someone who laid out a battle plan to fix this he said he would be pushing out officials in phoenix where the scandal all

started. the allege the 40 deaths of veterans waiting for health care. on the other hand, with the tea leaves you have jay carney at podium behind me yesterdayly was asked repeatedly does the president still have confidence in secretary shinseki. he would not answer. that seems like a signal, folks from the white house, president on down would not be shedding tears if secretary shinseki wanted to leave. the question now is, after shinseki came out this morning and seems like he wanted to stick around to fix it, will the president let him fix it or does the president decided better to relief him of his duties? if you look at the example of kathleen sebelius certainly the president let her stick it out a long time trying to fix the health care site, healthcare.gov for the health care law. will he give secretary shinseki a chance to fix massive problems? looks like 42 different va hospitals around the country where there are problems, could be more as this whole thing unfolds, or does he decide he

needs new leadership? jenna: as we await what the president will say about the new meeting, have you heard inside the briefing room of any other names who would potentially take over this task of taking over va and trying to fix this issue, if it is not shinseki? >> reporter: to be honest there has only been really rumors. we don't want to pass those on, other officials served in the military, served at the pentagon, served at some veterans service organizations. there hasn't been a hard list. up until this point at least the administration has been trying to let secretary shinseki report back to them how things are going. so they didn't want to float names out there until they decide whether or not they're boeing to push him out. again secretary shinseki's posture this morning was very firm he wanted to stay on to try to fix this. what we'll find out in a moment whether the president will let him do it. >> good morning, everybody. a few minutes ago secretary shinseki and rob ney

bores who he temporarily assigned to work with the va presented me with the department's initial review of va facilities nationwide and what they found is that the misconduct has not been limited to a few va facilities but many across the country. totally unacceptable. our veterans deserve the best. they have earned it. last week i said that if we found misconduct it would be punished and i meant it. secretary shinseki has now begun the process of firing many of the people responsible including senior leaders at the phoenix va he canceled any possible performance bonus this is year for va senior executives and he has ordered the va to personally contact every veteran in phoenix waiting for appointments to get them care they need and that they deserve. this morning i think some of you also heard rick take a truly remarkable action in public

remarks, he took responsibility for the conduct of those facilities and apologized to his fellow veterans and to the american people. in a few minutes ago secretary shinseki offered me his own resignation. with considerable regret i accepted. rick shinseki has served his country with honor for nearly 50 years. he did two tours of combat in vietnam. he is a veteran who left a part of himself on the battlefield. he rose to command in the first calvary division, served as army chief of staff, and has never been afraid to speak truth to power. as secretary of the va he presided over record investments in our veterans, enrolling two million new veterans in health care, delivering disability to more vietnam veterans exposed to agent orange, making it easier for veterans with posttraumatic

stress and mental health issues and traumatic brain injury to get treatment, improving care for our women veterans. at the same time he helped reduce veteran homelessness and helped more than one million veterans, servicemembers and their families pursue their education under the post-9/11 g-i bill. so rick's commitment to our veterans is unquestioned. his service to our country is exemplary. i am grateful for his service as are many veterans across the country. he has worked hard to investigate and identify problems with access to care but as he told me this morning, the va needs new leadership to address them. he does not want to be a distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and make sure our vets are getting the care that they need. that was rick's judgment on

behalf of his fellow veterans and i agree. we don't have time for distractions. we need to fix the problem. for now the leader that will help move us forward is sloane gibson, who will take on reigns of acting secretary. sloane became deputy at va three months ago but he devoted his life to serve our country and veterans. his grandfather front on the front lines of world war i. his father was a tail gunner in world war ii. sloane graduated from west point and earned airborne qualifications and served in the infantry. and most recently president and ceo of the usa which does a remarkable job supporting our men and women at war, our families, our wounded warriors and families of the fallen. all told sloane has 20 years of private sector and non-profit experience he brings to bear on ongoing work to build a 21st

century va and i'm grateful he is willing to take on the task. i met with sloane after i met with rick and made it clear reforms should not wait. they need to proceed immediately. i asked rob neighbors stay at va temporarily to help sloane through this transition and complete his own review of the vha. meantime we'll look diligently for a new, permanent va secretary and we hope to confirm that successor and fill that post as soon as possible. we're going to do right by our veterans across the board. as long as it takes. we're not going to stop working to make sure they get the care, benefit and opportunities that they have earned and they deserve. i said we wouldn't tolerate misconduct and we will not. i said that we have to do better and we will. there are too many veterans receiving care right now who deserve all of our best efforts. and an honest assessment if something is not working. this week i visited some of our men and women in uniform at

different stages of their service. our newest army officers who graduated from west point, our troops currently serving in afghanistan, our veterans and our military families at arlington. when i saw is what i've seen in every single service member, veteran and military spouse i have had the privilege to meet, a selfless, clear-eyed commitment to serving their country the best way that they know how. they're the best that our country has to offer. they do their duty. they expect us to do ours. so today i want every man and woman who served under our flag to know, whether your tour has been over for decades or, it is just about to end, we will never stop working to do right by you and your families. let me take a couple questions. leo shane from military times. >> mr. president, what changed

in your opinion of secretary shinseki in the last few days? you said you had confidence in him, even him coming in today saying it was, time for him to resign? what made the difference in your mind? >> rick's judgment. i think his belief that he would be a distraction from the task at hand. which is to make sure that what's broken gets fixed so that his fellow veterans are getting services that they need. i want to reiterate. he is a very good man. i just don't mean he is accomplished man. i just don't mean he has been an outstanding soldier. he is a good person who's done ex-semimary work on our -- exemplary work under our behalf and under his leadership we have seen more progress on more fronts at the va and bigger

investment in the va than just about any other va secretary. he cut veterans homelessness by 24%. brought in folks who had been exposed to agent orange who had been waiting for decades to get the services an benefits that they had earned. making sure that posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury was dealt with in a serious way. making sure we had facilities for our womens vets who all too often were not receiving the kind of specialized services that they needed. so he has been a champion of our veterans and where there's props he has been ready and willing to bet in there and fix them. so, with the disability backlog, that had shot up, as a consequence of the admission of the agent orange veterans as

well as making it easier to apply for posttraumatic stress disorder disability claims, when it spiked he went at it in a systemic way and we've now cut it by 50% over the course of the last year or so. he's not adverse to admitting where there's problem and going after it. but, it would occupy a, not just a an environment that calls for management fixes. we've also got to deal with congress and you guys and i think, rick's judgment that he could not carry out the next stages of reform without being a distraction himself and so my assessment was unfortunately that he was right. i regret that he asked to resign

under these circumstances and i have confidence in sloane and i share rick shinseki's assessment that the number one priority is making sure that problems get fixed so that if there is veteran out there that needs help, they get a schedule and they are able to come in to see a doctor, and if there are facilities don't have enough doctors or enough nurses or do not have enough space, that that information immediately gets in the hands of the decision-makers all the way up to me and all the way to congress so we can get more resources in there to help folks. and that seems to be the biggest problem, i think that is the thing that offended secretary shinseki the most during the course of this process. he described to me the fact he was in theater he might have to order an attack just based on a phone call some 20 something-year-old corporal, and he has got to trust he is getting good information and

it's life or death. and i think he is deeply disappointed in the fact that bad news did not get to him and that the structures weren't in place for him to identify this problem quickly, and fix it. his priority now is to make sure that happens and he felt like new leadership would be, would serve our veterans best and i agree with him. phil mattingly. >> mr. president, based on the audit at least the early stage audit that the secretary presented to you, is there a sense that there was criminal wrongdoing? i guess more broadly, how much responsibility do you personally bear as this being an issue you campaigned on and cared about deeply, said cared about deeply during your administration now that we're at this point? >> i will leave it up to the justice department to make determinations whether there has been criminal wrongdoing. in terms of responsibility, as i have said before, this is my administration.

i always take responsibility for whatever happens and this is an area that i have a particular concern with. this predates my presidency when i was in the senate. i was on the veterans affairs committee. i heard first-hand veterans who were not getting the kinds of services and benefits that they had earn. and i pledged that if i had the privilege of serving as commander-in-chief and president, that we would fix it. the va is a big organization that has had problems for a very long time. in some cases management problems. in some cases funding problems. and what wee tried to do is systematically go after the problems we were aware of and fix them and where we have seen our veterans not being properly served, whether it was too many homeless veterans or a disability claims process that was taking too long, we would go at it and chip away at it and fix it.

when it came to funding, we have increased funding for va services in unprecedented fashion, because we understood that it's not enough to give lip service to our veterans, but not be willing to put our money where our mouth is. and so, what i can say confidentially, this has been a priority. it has been a priority reflected in my budget and in terms of managing the va where we have seen a problem, where we have been aware of a problem, we have gone after it and fixed it and have been able to make significant progress, but, what is absolutely clear this one, this issue of scheduling, is one that the reporting systems inside of the vha did not surface to the level where rick was aware of it or we were able to see it. this was not something that we were hearing, when i was

traveling around the country, the particular issue of scheduling, and what we're going to have to do part of the review to see how do we make sure that we get information about systems that aren't working. i just was talking to rob neighbors, and he described to me, for example, just in very specific detail how in some of these facilities you've got computer systems for scheduling that date back to the '90s. situations in which one scheduler might have to look at four or five different screens to figure out where there is a slot and where there might be a doctor available. situations in which their manually passing requests for an appointment over to somebody else who is then inputting them, right? so you have, in many case, old systems, broken down systems. this is stuff that imminently fixable but we've got to know

about it and, you know, the big concern that i've got and what i'm going to be interested in finding out is, how is it that in a number of these facilities, if in fact you have veterans who are waiting too long for an appointment that that information didn't surface sooner so that we could go ahead and fix it. one last point i want to make on this. when veterans have gotten access to the system, the health care itself that they are receiving has gotten high marks from our veterans service organizations and veterans themselves. so i think it is important to keep in mind that what the review indicates so far at least is that there have been great strides made in the actual care provided to veterans. the challenge is, getting veterans into the door, particularly for their first appointment in some cases.

and where they don't have an established relationship with a doctor and they're not in the system. part of that is going to be technology. part of that is management. but as rick shinseki himself indicated, there is a need for a change in culture within the vha and perhaps the vha as a whole, or the va as a whole, that makes sure that bad news gets surfaced quickly so that things could be fixed. i know that was the attitude of secretary shinseki and that is what he communicated to folks under him and they didn't execute and that's a problem. christie parsons, last question. >> thank you, mr. president. you said that it was the general's own judgment that made the decision for you here. if i remember correctly, secretary sebelius offered you her let's ignition after health care dot-gov failed and i declined to take it. i wonder if there is a little

scapegoating taking place here? >> meaning? >> i mean the dysfunction within the department seems to have been very deep and very widespread so is, lopping off the head of it really best step to take going forward here? what i'm asking is there a political reason for removing him other than going straight to the problem of the bureaucracy? >> well, the distractions that rick refers to are in part political of. he needs to be, at this stage what i want is somebody at the va who is not spending time outside of solving problems for the veterans. i want somebody who is spending every minute of every day figuring out, have we called every single veteran that's waiting? have they gotten a schedule? are we fixing the system? what kind of new technology do we need? have we made a realistic assessment of how long wait

times are right now and how are we going to bring those wait times down in certain facilities where the wait times are too long? if we need more money, how much more money do we need to ask from congress and, how am i going to make sure congress delivers on that additional funding? that's what i want somebody at the va focused on. not, how are they getting second-guessed and, speculation about their futures and so forth and so on. that was what rick agreed to as well. with respect to secretary sebelius, at the time i thought it would be a distraction to replace somebody, hhs at a time when we were trying to fix that system. i wanted to just stay focused because i knew if we bared down on it and we got folks enrolled it would work. so in each instance my primary

decision is based on how can i deliver service to the american people and in this case how can i deliver for our veterans? and because they are people of integrity, i think in both cases of secretary sebelius, but certainly in the case here of rick shinseki they have got the same priority. their view is, what is it that is going to best deliver on behalf of folks who, as rick said this morning, have been let down? >> i remember at the time you felt she had so much knowledge about what had gone wrong that you couldn't afford to lose that. >> right. >> does somebody with three months in leadership at the department have the capacity to attack the problem quickly now? >> well, we're going to need a new va secretary. so sloane is acting. sloane i think would be the first to acknowledge he is going to have a learning curve he has got to deal with but the nature of the problem that has surfaced and is, has been the cause of

this attention is one that we can start tackling right away and without completely transforming the system, we can immediately make some progress. we'll have longer term issues that we'll have to take care of. so, my first step is, everybody who is out there waiting, get them an appointment. if we need more doctors, let's figure out how we can surge some doctors in there making sure they get the health help that they need. what i want to make sure of then, is that, even if it is still patchwork, how do we make sure that there's no slippage between somebody making a phone call, and them getting apappointment scheduled? let's have a realistic time for how soon they will get an appointment. those are things that don't require rocket science. it requires execution. it requires discipline, it

requires focus. those are things sha sloane has. there are then going to be some broader issues we'll have to tackle. the information systems inside of the vha. those are probably going to have to be changed. that will cost some money. that will take some time and have to be implemented. i think there will have to be some changes in the culture within the vha because as i said, they're providing very good service, medical treatment to our veterans when they get in the system but they don't have apparently the state of the art operations that you would want to see, for example, in a major medical center or hospital. now keep in mind, those of us who are outside of the va system and try to get an appointment with a doctor in the private sector and try to get anp a pointment for, you know, scheduled for a hospital visit, there are probably some wait times as well. part of what we have to do is

figure out what are realistic benchmarks for the system, and, my suspicion is that with not only all the veterans from iraq and afghanistan coming back but also the aging of our vietnam vets who may have more chronic illnesses, may need more visits, we may need to get more doctors and we may need to get more nurses and that's going to cost some money, which means that is going to have to be reflected in a veteran's affairs budget which i have consistently increased even during fiscally-tight times, there has been no area where i put more priority than making sure that we're delivering the kind of budget that's necessary to make sure our veterans are being served but it may still not be enough and we're going to, but before we start spending more money our first job is let's take care of some basic management issues that i think can be fixed.

all right? thank you. jenna: big news from the president today. eric shinseki is out as the secretary of the va. just to clarify the president mentioned rick an over and over again. he was referring to eric shinseki. we use his full name but that is who the president was talking about. another name the president mentioned often in his remarks, rob nabors, one of his top advisors, who he helped the with the va and the assessment over last couple weeks and third name the president mentioned, acting secretary of veterans affairs, sloane gibson. was a number two and a name you likely did not know. here is little information of sloane gibson. graduate of west point, a former army ranger. has some experience, quite significant experience in the private sector as well. ran a bank for 20 years to run the uso. remarks what we glean from the research we've been doing as the president is speaking.

he will take over as head of va as interrim head secretary to try to figure out some of these problems that have emerged and we heard about in more detail this weak. i believe bret baier is standing by in washington, d.c. i hope i'm right with that, bret. nice to see you. obviously a big headline today and unexpected in some camps potentially hearing this from the president. in your assessment how significant is this? >> it is significant politically because the avalanche of press releases coming from capitol hill from democrats was really picking up. 11 senate democrats, more than a dozen house members, and think it was in the cards because jay carney yesterday couldn't offer any confidence from the president in the va secretary when pressed about that numerous types. that said, it's not the end of the story obviously because this

investigation been so blown up to 42 facilities that are now in the inspector general's looking at these wait times of the thing the president said there which doesn't help his describing his management style here is that he, is aware of this issue and has been dealing with this issue since he was a senator on the senate veterans affairs committee. if you go back to the tape, senator obama, then president obama, spoke about this and specifically waiting times for veterans every year from running for president all the way up till last year. so this discovery about these waiting times and specifically the scheduling is, has been around for some time and, when he talks about these old computers and the tough part about scheduling, those things, veterans know, very well, for a long time.

jenna: it is an interesting point you bring up, bret, because outrage is rampant over this issue and it is certainly bipartisan but a solution has yet to really emerge. a plan to figure out what to do for these veterans of the president just mentioned there, he wants to make sure those waiting to see a doctor get to see one but we're still waiting for a way to do that wherever, a veteran is in this country. so how does that get fixed? >> i think that's a great question. i there will probably be some kind of a voucher if someone can not be seen they probably get a voucher to be seen outside of the va system. i think that is already starting in someplaces. i think it is a massive problem that is systemic and endemic and really broad and it will take a top to bottom review of this. we already had reaction from representative jeff miller, who is the chair of the house veterans affairs committee saying nearly every member of

eric shinseki's inner circle failed him in a major way. it's important to point out with sloane gibson who goes to acting secretary at the va he came under heavy criticism at a house hearing in april for lack of information during the questioning on all of this. so the president says he has confidence in him but i think at administration is going to work quickly to try to get another secretary in the pipeline, perhaps from outside the system. jenna: what does working quickly actually look like in d.c.? that is big question for many veterans and their families. bret, big news day. things for joining us early. just a note for the viewers, veterans affairs department in all has more than 300,000 employees. it is a huge department. when the president talks about where to fix things and where to big, talking about a big business someone has to bo in and someone has to rewire. this is a big story for us today. big news from the president.

shinseki is out the we'll continue with live coverage after the break.

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eric: after almost five years at head of the veterans admin operation we have heard and been reporting that eric shinseki, the general, is out resign after an oval office meeting with the president of the united states. mr. obama a few moments ago detailing that meeting in his decision vowing to press forward to try to get veterans the health care they need and deserve for those who have so

bravely served this country but the va scandal is growing. 42 medical centers now after apparently implicated as the inspector general's report detailed long wait times in phoenix and elsewhere. ed henry, chief white house correspondent is with us now. ed, what was striking about the news conference the president said, this was in his words, rick's decision, the general's decision. the president didn't do a harry truman and fire him. >> reporter: that's right. he did not fire him, that is significant but he gave eric shinseki perhaps a chance to fall on his sword this morning. in his speech to homeless veterans group here in washington, eric shinseki certainly sounded like somebody who wanted to fight it out and wanted to fix the problem himself. he was pushing out officials in phoenix where the scandal all started because of alleged 40 deaths of veterans waiting for health care said that he had wanted to move forward but took full responsibility by the way but yesterday here at the white house podium behind me jay carney you will remember got several questions about whether

the president still had confidence in eric shinseki and repeatedly would not answer that question yes or no. which certainly suggested that while the president was loathe to fire someone who was a war hero, wounded himself in vietnam, rose to a four-star general, was willing nonetheless to accept his resignation if it was in the offing. i also think it is significant that the president said on at least two occasions, of shinseki he is deeply disappointed bad news didn't get to him specifically. president leaving out why bad news in this case, about these alleged deaths and what not did not get to him either in the oval office. that has been a criticism of this president in terms of his management style, whether in the irs scandal, hhs healthcare.gov rollout that bad news didn't get to him. instead other officials took the heat for it. my suspicion is, with the president heading to europe next week for the 70th anniversary of d-day will be with a lot of veterans, very

festive occasion and important remembrance they wanted to deal with this problem before that occasion no doubt but we should also be clear that just because now the bandaid has been ripped off it doesn't mean that the va health care system is magically going to be fixed. it's a monumental task ahead. look, the president when also asked whether there would be criminal charges said that is up to the justice department. this is scandal. people being fired. people resigning but at the end of the day people may go to jail as well. eric. eric: general shinseki is highly thought of and respected in washington despite what happened. ed, always good to see you. jenna. jenna: this is quick-moving story today, but interesting one to watch develop over the last week or so. after the break the media role in the va scandal and ultimate decision by the president to accept the general's resignation

the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. this has been a media story the last month and finally officials taking meaningful action. your response. >> absolutely. the media played a crucial role in exposing the malfeasance, the incompetence, the perhaps corruption of the va. they stayed on the story. they hammered away. they took it to the white house but now the issue is, will shinseki's resignation or firing take attention away from this scandal? i don't think so. because i don't think the

president can dodge responsible on this one and initial media reaction suggests i'm right. peggy noonan said, president obama is quote, killing the reputation of government through insufficient oversight. i think he can not make this problem go away simply by accepting shinseki's resignation. eric: tammy, will this, dampen the story? you hear heart-breaking stories from the families, we've had them here on the fox news channel. family after family after family who in their view have been victimized? >> yeah, everyone is touched by this. this isn't something that any section of society or the american community is untouched by. the other additional reporting, when it comes to media that maybe normally doesn't play a bigger role in certain social issues is the military media. you noticed obama first called on first question a reporter from the military sometimes and also "stars and stripes." these are media elements that speak to veterans families, to veterans

themselves. they recognize this is out of control. so the questions today were excellent. the mia is clearly going to stay on it and i've been contending that eric shinseki, much like sebelius, provided a bit of a human shield for the president. he now is going to have to face this, but i have to tell you, both of you, sounded like the president blamed all of this on a computer glitch. he talked about infrastructure. he talked about old computers. this is not going to resonate. it was quite tone deaf, when it comes to the impact on the people themselves. eric: judy, last word, that is very interesting point. not only did the shinseki make the decision according to the president but the president also said there was political distractions. >> yes. of course the question about critical scapegoating, the last question of this news conference that we just broadcast indicates that you know, there was, there seems to be different standard when it comes to kathleen sebelius who oversaw the complete disaster of a rollout versus general shinseki. so, i don't think this problem goes away.

i agree with tammy. eric: we're out of time at the moment. certainly won't. judy miller, tammy bruce. thank you so much. we're on the story. stay with it. you're watching the fox news channel. fighting constipation by eating healthier, drinking plenty of water, but still not getting relief? try dulcolax laxative tablets. dulcolax is comfort-coated for gentle, over-night relief. dulcolax. predictable over-night relief you can count on. spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat.

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eric: and we'll see you in an hour. jenna: continuing coverage on our stories here on fox news, "outnumbered" starts right now. ♪ ♪ >> hello. this is outnumbered, i'm harris faulkner, and here with us today, sandra smith, jedediah bee la, kirsten powers and today's hashtag one lucky guy, tucker carlson, he is outnumbered, and we're glad you're here. >> thanks for having me. >> welcome back. >> let's start with what's breaking. the man at the top of the veteran affairs is out after a meeting between va secretary eric shinseki and the president inside the oval office. the president telling reporters shinseki handed in his resignation. this issue of our veterans