Stefanik Statement on Letter to Biden's Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough on Failing to Hold Antisemitic Employee Accountable

Letter

Dear Mr. Secretary:
On December 13, 2023, we sent you a letter demanding that the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) hold Ms. Shekeba Morrad, an attorney in the VA Office of General Counsel
(OGC), accountable for an openly antisemitic and disrespectful video she posted on Instagram
mocking Israelis pleading for the return of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
In your response on January 12, 2024, you expressed how disgusting you found Ms.
Morrad's statements. You also mentioned that following VA's investigation, Ms. Morrad was
counseled and required to complete harassment training as a solution for her actions.
We are incredulous that you believe this is an adequate response. The statements made by
Ms. Morrad are abhorrent and insensitive, and we agree with you that they do not align with
VA's core values. This decision by the Department raises questions about how Jewish veterans
can trust Ms. Morrad, or VA as a whole, when seeking treatment, filing for disability claims, or
any other veterans' benefits and services they are entitled to receive. To believe a veteran could
or has faced this level of discrimination and hate at an agency that is meant to serve them is
appalling. We question what level of hate speech is "enough" for the Department to do anything
beyond "counseling."
These same issues of bias and discrimination were recently raised by the Jewish War
Veterans of United States of America (JWV) in their letter to you on January 14, 2024
(enclosure), where they responded with anger and disappointment at how the Biden
administration chose to address Ms. Morrad's actions. Like us, they are extremely concerned
about the ability of Ms. Morrad to adequately represent the Department and interact with those
veterans of the Jewish faith or heritage. Further, JWV is not satisfied that the counseling and
training, that Ms. Morrad more than likely has already taken during her onboarding process as a
VA employee, is going to address the issue.
After weeks of internal investigations, we are disheartened, but not surprised by the
Department's attempt to shield its meager response to Ms. Morrad's comments from public
scrutiny. It was no accident that we received the Department's response late on a Friday evening
headed into a three-day holiday weekend. The Department's response to our letter also coincided
with public statements to media outlets. However, to our knowledge, the Department has yet to
respond to JWV's letter on this topic from November 28, 2023, but rather sent the largest veteran
service organization that represents our nation's Jewish veteran community a recycled press
statement from two days earlier on January 15, 2024. We are also disappointed that this response
was sent to Congress and the media after sundown on Friday, January 12th, when many members
of the Jewish faith are unable to respond to inquiries due to the observance of shabbat.
In addition, your response failed to acknowledge our request for a speedy investigation of
Ms. Morrad and the provision of all documents associated with the fact-finding and
recommendations. As the Department has already determined the appropriate response to Ms.
Morrad's actions, we would presume these documents are readily available. As such, please
provide to us no later than February 8, 2024, any documents, evidence, and witness transcripts
related to the internal investigation of Ms. Morrad's actions. Please include any charging
documents, evidence, and written decisions of the proposing and deciding official related to
discipline that was considered under this case. When producing documents, do not alter them in
any way, including but not limited to, the application of redactions or a watermark. Additionally,
digital copies should be provided in a format that enables their printing and copying. In addition,
please provide an action plan that lays out how OGC plans to address Ms. Morrad's perceived
biases beyond having a supervisor review her work.

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