And as more members of Congress call for Shinseki to go, including Obama’s own Democratic allies, there seems to be no clear sense about who could replace him.

The growing magnitude of the VA scandal means the post might be one of the least appealing in Washington. It would require a punishing confirmation hearing to take on a notoriously dysfunctional agency under a national microscope — in a lame-duck administration.

That makes one immediate possibility elevating VA’s deputy secretary, Sloan Gibson, who has only been on the job since his Senate confirmation in February.

Gibson is a West Point graduate, former Army infantry officer and the former CEO of the United Service Organizations — the USO of troop concerts and airport lounges, among its other efforts — so he has the right background for the job.