The health care scandal at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has claimed its first administrative victim.

Or has it?

Robert Petzel, the VA’s top health official, quit on Friday. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki accepted his resignation.

But wait.

Petzel had announced his intention to leave the department before news broke about the scandal in Phoenix, where veteran reportedly have died while awaiting health care.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/veterans-affairs-resign-robert-petzel-health-official-scandal-106772.html?hp=l13

The White House has dispatched its deputy chief of staff to conduct a top-to-bottom review of Veterans Affairs health practices in light of this unfolding scandal. Shinseki has said he’s “mad as hell,” as has President Obama.

At issue is the wait time for veterans, who were supposed to be on an expedited list to receive health care, but instead were delayed at times for weeks and months. What’s more, the VA concocted bogus data that purported to show the vets were experiencing “normal” wait times. Turns out they weren’t, not by a long shot.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., called Petzel’s resignation the “pinnacle of political doublespeak,” given that he had already planned to leave the department. He said his announcement “doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Someone needs to pass the air freshener.