Fired US Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has labelled Washington “toxic” in a parting shot at President Donald Trump.
Mr Shulkin said he was fired because he was opposed to plans within the Trump administration to privatise healthcare for veterans.
President Trump replaced Mr Shulkin on Wednesday with the president’s personal doctor, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson.
An internal watchdog found Mr Shulkin improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets.
In a scathing column for the New York Times, Mr Shulkin wrote: “As I prepare to leave government, I am struck by a recurring thought: It should not be this hard to serve your country.”
He said that in recent months “the environment in Washington has turned so toxic, chaotic, disrespectful and subversive that it became impossible for me to accomplish the important work that our veterans need and deserve”.
The former hospital administrator, who first served under President Barack Obama, said “advocates within the administration for privatising” veterans’ healthcare services “saw me as an obstacle to privatisation who had to be removed”.
This story is from The BBC News. To read the full story, please go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43574256.