Groups wonder if Jackson has experience to run VA

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s selection of his White House doctor to run the massive Department of Veterans Affairs triggered concern Thursday among lawmakers and veterans groups about whether he has the experience to manage an agency paralyzed over Trump’s push to expand private care.

Ronny Jackson, a Navy rear admiral entrusted with the health of the past three presidents, is a lifelong physician whose positions on privatizing operations in the second-largest federal department and addressing ballooning health care costs are unknown.

First named to the top White House post by President Barack Obama, he would be new to running a big bureaucracy if given leadership over a department of 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.

“There is little that we know about Dr. Ronny Jackson’s vision and qualifications,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “Our concern is whether President Trump was more interested in picking a secretary who would be politically loyal, rather than someone who can work across the aisle to fix long-standing problems of bureaucratic delay.”

Similar doubts were expressed by Veterans of Foreign Wars, which praised Jackson’s military background in a statement but pointed to a nominee biography devoid of “any experience working with the VA or with veterans.” AMVETS echoed such sentiments.

Jackson joined the White House medical team in 2006 and is perhaps best known for his appearance before the press corps in January, announcing the results of Trump’s first physical.

A White House official said David Shulkin, whom Jackson would replace, had recommended him for an undersecretary position at the VA in the fall, and Trump ultimately decided he was more comfortable with Jackson than with other top candidates. The official was not authorized to discuss personnel matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.