Press Releases

Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), released the following joint statement after late last night the Members received a response from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to their December letter, which had urged Secretary Denis McDonough to hold VA attorney Ms. Shekeba Morrad accountable for the video she posted online mocking Israelis who are asking for the return of hostages taken by Hamas terrorists:

“In December, we demanded that VA hold their lawyer, Ms. Shekeba Morrad, accountable for posting a disgustingly antisemitic video mocking Israelis who are asking for the return of hostages held in Gaza. Antisemitism has no place in our society – period. In Joe Biden’s VA, instead of holding Ms. Morrad accountable for her actions, late Friday night the Department told us Ms. Morrad was asked to click through a routine “harassment prevention and accountability training” PowerPoint and she would escape being held accountable for her actions.

“This abysmal response is entirely inadequate. Ms. Morrad’s repugnant behavior cannot be tolerated – especially in an agency that is tasked with serving all our nation’s veterans – including Jewish veterans. This is a slap in the face to every single veteran who has fought and died to defend this great country and the values we stand for.

“The VA knows that their complete failure to hold Ms. Morrad responsible for her abhorrent video is wrong. That is why they sent their response on a Friday evening before a three-day weekend. And only further proves what we already knew, that under the Biden administration, true accountability for bad employees and misconduct within the federal government is lost.”

To read the Department’s full response to the Members December 2023 letter, click here.