VA Removes Medical Center Director

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that it has fired former Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center Director Brian Hawkins for his failure to provide effective leadership to the D.C. Medical Center. The department undertook this action using authorities provided by the VA Accountability Act, which the president signed into law in June. Hawkins was notified in late August that he was being proposed for removal. VA initiated the latest action after the VA Office of Inspector General issued a new report finding that Hawkins violated VA policy by sending sensitive VA information from his work email to unsecured private email accounts. The report is available on the VA Office of Inspector General website.