Trump says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is right that the Veterans Affairs department 'isn't broken'
- President Donald Trump said he agrees with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive freshman, that the Department of Veterans Affairs "isn't broken."
- "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is correct, the VA is not broken, it is doing great. But that is only because of the Trump Administration," Trump wrote.
- Ocasio-Cortez argued last week that Americans should resist Republican efforts to privatize the VA's healthcare services.
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President Donald Trump said he agrees with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive freshman, that the Department of Veterans Affairs "isn't broken."
But, Trump said in a Wednesday tweet, that's because his administration has fixed it.
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is correct, the VA is not broken, it is doing great. But that is only because of the Trump Administration," Trump wrote. "We got Veterans Choice & Accountability passed. 'President Trump deserves a lot of credit.' Dan Caldwell, Concerned Veterans of America."
Trump supported the MISSION Act last year, which expanded private health care options within the VA system - something that Ocasio-Cortez has taken issue with.
The New York Democrat argued at a town hall last week that Americans should resist efforts to privatize the VA's services.
"All I can think of is that classic refrain that my parents always taught me growing up, is that: 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it,'" she said.
She went on, "Here's the thing, they are trying to fix it. But who are they are trying to fix it for, is the question we gotta ask ... They are trying to fix the VA for pharmaceutical companies, they are trying to fix the VA for insurance corporations, and, ultimately, they are trying to fix the VA for a for-profit healthcare industry that does not put people or veterans first."
Congressional Republicans took issue on Ocasio-Cortez's remarks, calling her praise of the VA "offensive."
"From veterans waiting 30 to 60 days for an appointment, suicide hotlines going to voicemail, to the rationing of medicine and vast cost overruns, this Department is failing on multiple fronts," Rep. Phil Roe, the top Republican on the Veterans' Affairs committee, said in a statement to Fox News. "To say that this is the level of care those who put their lives on the line to defend our nation deserve is frankly offensive."
