Burr Overplays His Hand

First Read: “Interestingly, no additional Democrats over the long Memorial Day weekend came out for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign. In fact, maybe the biggest political development was that a few veterans groups accused GOP Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the ranking Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, of over-politicizing the VA mess when he called out these groups for refusing to demand Shinseki’s resignation.”

“Burr’s decision to criticize these groups — and the backlash it prompted — represents a classic case of political overreach. And it changes the conversation from the Obama administration’s handling of this VA story, to Republicans stepping on the political pedal, as well as why Senate Republicans blocked additional VA earlier this year.”