Senators delay VA nominee’s hearing over ‘serious allegations’
Trump calls senators ‘vicious group of people’
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers delayed the confirmation hearing of Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, amid concerns about his record.
Trump said he was leaving the decision up to Jackson about whether to continue the process.
Senate VA Committee leaders said 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 there were complaints that Jackson oversaw a hostile work environment, allowed the improper prescription of drugs and drank on the job.
An investigation by the Navy’s medical inspector general concluded in 2012 that Jackson exhibited “unprofessional behaviors” and suggested the White House consider replacing him, 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 Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the highest-ranking Democrat on the VA committee, 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
“Somebody who’s going to run an agency this big with so much responsibility, you want to make sure you’ve vetted properly. I’m not sure that was done here.” Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
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 10 days. “We’re still working on the vetting,” he said.
It was unclear whether the nomination would survive that long. Trump said he was reticent to subject Jackson to the public gantlet 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 late Tuesday fighting back against the allegations and noting that Jackson has received glowing performance evaluations since the 2012 report.
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.
Republicans voiced similar concerns. “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.”