VA nominee Ronny Jackson in jeopardy as Senate delays hearing amid 'serious allegations'

WASHINGTON — President Trump's nomination of Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs is in peril after the Senate delayed his confirmation hearing amid concerns about his record and Trump said he was leaving the decision up to Jackson about whether to continue.

Jackson met with the president in the Oval Office late Tuesday, and two officials said afterward that Jackson didn't want to withdraw and instead wanted to fight it out. But that could change, cautioned the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Senate VA Committee leaders said earlier Tuesday that they had received "serious allegations" about Jackson's service as a naval and White House physician.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the highest ranking Democrat on the committee, told NPR and other media outlets they concerned complaints Jackson oversaw a hostile work environment, allowed the improper prescription of drugs and drank on the job.

Approximately 20 people raised concerns to the committee, Tester told CNN's Anderson Cooper, with some alleging that Jackson would hand out prescriptions "like candy."

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An investigation by the Navy’s Medical Inspector General concluded in 2012 that Jackson and another White House doctor had exhibited “unprofessional behaviors” and suggested the White House consider replacing one or both of them, according to the investigation report. Jackson has served as a White House doctor since 2006. 

Trump said he hadn't heard of the "particular allegations," but he called Jackson "one of the finest people I have met” and ripped senators for questioning his record.

“I told Adm. Jackson just a little while ago, I said, ‘What do you need this for?’ This is a vicious group of people,” the president said. “He’s an admiral, he’s a great leader. And they question him about every little thing.”

Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Tester wrote a letter to Trump Tuesday asking for documentation “regarding allegations or incidents involving Rear Admiral Jackson from 2006 to present.”

“It is our privilege to serve veterans and their families and it is our duty to ensure that the individual who serves as Secretary of Veterans Affairs is qualified, capable, and appropriate for the position,” they wrote.

They postponed the confirmation hearing scheduled for Wednesday. No future hearing date was set. Tester said the earliest the committee could finish its review would probably be in 10 days. Asked if the nomination was salvageable, he said, “We’re still working on the vetting.”

'It's totally his decision'

It's unclear whether the nomination will survive that long. Trump said he was reluctant to subject Jackson to the public gauntlet required to continue, but "it's totally his decision."  

Jackson is "not a political person. I don’t want to put a man through a process like this. It’s too ugly and too disgusting,” he said. “The fact is, I wouldn’t do it. What does he need it for? ... I don’t think personally he should do it.”

Trump picked Jackson to take over the VA after he ousted Secretary David Shulkin last month. After the president's physical this year, Jackson lauded Trump’s “excellent” health and “incredibly good genes.”

The White House issued a statement Tuesday evening fighting back against the allegations being reviewed by the Senate and noting that Jackson has received glowing performance evaluations since the 2012 report.

White House officials said a recent controlled substances audit by outside experts determined Jackson worked within the official guidelines and his medicinal prescriptions were appropriate.

Still, Democrats criticized the White House for failing to adequately vet Jackson before forwarding his nomination to the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speculated that Trump, "who we know acts on impulse, had this nominee in the room, his doctor, and said, 'Hey, let’s put you up' — without any vetting.”

"How did he get through the process with all of these allegations not even being made public?" he said. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who sits on the VA committee, said the number of people who came forward with allegations is in the double digits.

"They're people that knew him or know him, have worked with him, in the military or former military that are willing to talk to investigators about him," he said. "So I don't know what's true, but I do know that all kinds of people are coming forward, and that should have given the White House some pause on this nomination."

Republicans voiced similar concerns. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said that if the allegations prove true, “then it’s a vetting miss.”

“Somebody who’s going to run an agency this big with so much responsibility, you want to make sure you’ve vetted properly," Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said. "I’m not sure that was done here."

Lack of experience

Until Tuesday, the most serious concerns raised about Jackson's nomination were whether he had enough management experience to lead the troubled VA, which has more than 300,000 employees and operates 1,200 medical facilities across the country. 

Jackson, 50, is a native of Levelland, Texas, who attended medical school at the University of Texas and began his active-duty service in the Navy in 1995, according to his biography.

He did stints in Florida, Italy and Virginia before being deployed in 2005 to Iraq, where he was an emergency medical doctor at a trauma unit in Taqaddum. He began work at the White House the following year.

Jackson dismissed concerns about his experience this month in an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, saying, “I think I’ve got what it takes.”

Contributing: David Jackson

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