Boehner ‘closer’ to calling for ouster of U.S. Veterans Affairs chief

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he is "getting closer" to asking Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign, saying he is still unconvinced that this would solve the agency's problems. But another member of the House Republican leadership, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, broke ranks to join a growing list of lawmakers and candidates calling on Shinseki to quit. "I believe new leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs is imperative to fixing the wrong that this massive bureaucracy has done to the men and women we owe so much to," McCarthy said in a statement. Some Democrats also are starting to call for the retired four-star Army general to step down despite continued support from President Barack Obama, including representatives David Scott and John Barrow of Georgia.