( CNN ) -- With Eric Shinseki 's resignation Friday , the top post at the Department of Veterans Affairs goes to interim Secretary Sloan Gibson . Gibson was deputy secretary for just three months before his new role , but President Barack Obama already has laid out some priorities for him . During Friday 's news conference in which Obama announced Shinseki 's resignation , he also addressed some qualities and priorities needed in the next VA secretary . Pressure had been mounting for Shinseki to step down amid a scandal involving long waits for care at VA hospitals . `` At this stage , what I want is somebody at the VA who is not spending time outside of solving problems for the veterans , '' Obama said . The President said he wants someone who will spend `` every minute of every day '' finding solutions to the problems at the troubled department . Obama ran through a list of problems for the next VA chief to solve : Has the VA reached out to all the veterans who are waiting for care ? Have they had appointments scheduled ? Is the system being fixed ? What new technology is needed ? `` That 's what I want somebody at the VA focused on , '' he said . `` Not how are they getting second-guessed , and speculation about their futures and so forth . '' Document : VA audit report released . Before coming to the VA , Gibson was chief executive at the USO . A West Point graduate , Gibson was an infantry officer in the Army . His grandfather and father served in World War I and World War II , respectively . Gibson also has experience in the private sector , having worked for more than 20 years in banking . Obama said he met with Sloan and `` made it clear that reforms should not wait . '' `` They need to proceed immediately , '' Obama said . In his last acts as secretary , Shinseki on Friday announced the firings of those responsible for misconduct , including senior leaders at the Phoenix VA hospital , where some of the most egregious cases of alleged fraud may have occurred . Gibson 's immediate priority , the President said , is to ensure that all veterans who call for appointments get them in a timely manner . `` Those are things that do n't require rocket science , '' Obama said . `` It requires execution , it requires discipline , it requires focus . Those are things that Sloan ( Gibson ) has . '' Long-term solutions will require a review of the VA 's budget , and its needs for doctors and technology , he said . The VA 's troubled history . Shinseki could n't weather firestorm over scandal .
President Obama lays out some priorities for the next VA leader . The VA 's interim secretary will be Sloan Gibson , ex-USO leader . Obama : Priority is for all veterans who want medical appointments to get them in timely manner .