PoliticsPoliticsDepartment of Veterans Affairsveterans-affairs-scandal

GOP Congressman Jokes That The VA Should Run ISIS

GOP Congressman Jokes That The VA Should Run ISIS
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Politics Intern, The Huffington Post

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Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) suggested Friday that the leaders who run the Department of Veteran Affairs should also run ISIS because they're so incompetent and would presumably run the terrorist group into the ground.

“I was speaking before a group the other day and said, 'It’s too bad we can't take VA leadership and export it and give it to some of our adversaries around the planet,” Coffman said during his radio interview with 850 KOA in Denver. “Let them suffer under VA's leadership.’"

"Can you imagine if the VA was in charge of ISIS? You know they would probably say, ‘Oh yeah, you know, it wasn’t quite 2,000 that we beheaded. It was really -- 24 is the accurate number," he added. "And we're sorry, that, in fact, they were all our own terrorists that we beheaded because it got misclassified in the system as Christian.' I mean, that would be the VA in charge of ISIS.”

In response, one of the show hosts said, “I don’t know what they’re putting in your orange juice back there.”

The VA has faced intense criticism in recent years for the backlog in veterans' disability claims. In May 2014, Eric Shinseki resigned as head of the VA in response to a scandal in which agency employees around the country hid the long wait times that veterans faced when seeking assistance.

Coffman has been pushing to get more funding to complete construction of a VA hospital in Aurora, Colo., which has been plagued by cost overruns.

Coffman recently said that he will not run for Senate in 2016 and will instead seek re-election to the House.

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Before You Go

Veterans Affairs Secretaries
Eric Shinseki(01 of09)
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Took office: Jan. 21, 2009Left office: May 30, 2014U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki addresses the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans May 30, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
James Peake (02 of09)
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Took office: Dec. 20, 2007Left office: Dec. 20, 2009U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary James Peake speaks at a National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon on meeting the needs of 21st century veterans at the National Press Club in Washington on May 20, 2008. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Gordon Mansfield (Acting)(03 of09)
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Took office: Oct. 1, 2007Left office: Dec. 20, 2007Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield (C) looks at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial during ceremonies to mark The Wall's 25th anniversary on the National Mall November 7, 2007 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Jim Nicholson(04 of09)
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Took office: Feb. 1, 2005Left office: Oct. 1, 2007Jim Nicholson, newly appointed Secretary of Veterans Affairs, speaks at the VFW hall March 4, 2005 in Elgin, Illinois. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Anthony Principi(05 of09)
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Took office: Sept. 26, 1992 (acting)Left office: Jan. 20, 1993Took office: Jan. 23, 2001Left office: Jan. 26, 2005Anthony Principi speaks to the media following his nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs by U.S. President-elect George W. Bush on Dec. 29, 2000 at Bush-Cheney Transition Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (PAUL BUCK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Togo West Jr. (06 of09)
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Took office: Jan. 2, 1998 (Acting)Left office: July 25, 2000Former Veterans Affairs Secretary and former Secretary of the Army Togo West Jr. co-chair of the Defense Department Independent Review Relating to Fort Hood, testifies during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee January 20, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Hershel Gober (left)(07 of09)
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Took office: July 1, 1997 (acting)Left office: Jan. 2, 1998Took office: July 25, 2000 (acting)Left office: Jan. 20, 2001 U.S. President Bill Clinton (C) shakes hands with incoming Veteran's Affairs Secretary Hershel W. Gober (L) as outgoing Veteran's Affairs Secretary Togo West Jr. (R) moves into the picture during a press conference 10 July, 2000 on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C. (GEORGE BRIDGES/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Jesse Brown(08 of09)
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Took office: Jan. 22, 1993Left office: July 1, 1997U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Jesse Brown (C) speaks to a crowd of homeless veterans after they marched from the front of the White House to the Veterans Affairs Building on February 24, 1994 in Washington, D.C. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Edward Derwinski (left)(09 of09)
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Took office: March 15, 1989Left office: Sept. 26, 1992In this Dec. 23, 1991 file photo, President George H.W. Bush meets with Edward Derwinski, Veterans Administration Administrator, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (credit:AP)
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