Dr. Ronny Jackson is not going to withdraw his nomination to become Secretary of Veterans Affairs – at least not any time soon. Amid charges of being grossly unqualified to run the VA, a $180 billion federal agency that serves 20 million veterans, Adm. Jackson is now facing allegations of improper behavior.
Those charges reportedly include “too much” drinking on the job, allowing the over-prescribing of prescription medications, and creating a hostile work environment.
Tuesday afternoon President Trump voiced support for Jackson, but opened the door for him to withdraw, saying, he is “a high-quality person,” and withdrawing is “totally his decision.”
“I don’t want to put a man through a process like this. It’s too ugly and too disgusting,” Trump said. “So, we’ll see what happens. He’ll make a decision.”
Jackson is on Capitol Hill today, meeting with Senators ahead of what was to be his confirmation hearing tomorrow. That hearing has been postponed indefinitely.
But according to CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju and CNN National Correspondent Sunlen Serfaty, Jackson is telling lawmakers he’s innocent.
“He does deny that he’s done anything wrong in his service to the country. And particularly his time at the White House as a physician in the medical unit,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) says.
And Raju now says Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) (photo above, with Jackson) tells him Jackson’s FBI background check is “clean.” That does not necessarily include the workplace allegations.
Is Dr. Jackson withdrawing? It appears not any time soon.
Image by Jon Tester via Flickr