Thrown under the bus...

Ronny Jackson withdraws as veterans affairs secretary nominee

The White House physician calls the allegations of over-prescribing pills and drunken behavior 'completely false and fabricated.'

By CRISTIANO LIMA

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson has withdrawn from consideration to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs after lawmakers received damaging allegations that he created a toxic work environment, drunkenly wrecked a car and maintained poor prescription records while serving in the federal government.

“While I will forever be grateful for the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me by giving me this opportunity, I am regretfully withdrawing my nomination to be Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Jackson said in a statement on Thursday morning.

“The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated," he said. "If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a follow-up statement that Jackson is still on the job as the White House physician. "Admiral Jackson is a doctor in the United States Navy assigned to the White House and is here at work today," she said.

Jackson, who served as the presidential physician under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now Donald Trump, was tapped last month to replace Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, who was pushed out after clashing with administration officials. Jackson is the latest of several Trump nominees to run into controversies over their conduct, adding to White House upheaval with the departures of numerous top officials and Cabinet members since the president entered office.

The longtime physician and Navy rear admiral’s nomination to lead the VA faced questions from the start because of his lack of experience leading such a sprawling organization. But his bid for the job became imperiled over the past week after allegations surfaced about his conduct in the West Wing.

According to a report released by Senate Democrats on Wednesday, several staffers who know him “raised serious questions about Jackson’s temperament and ethics and cast doubt on his ability to lead the second largest agency in government.”

The document, unveiled by Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the ranking Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, raised concerns about Jackson’s practices prescribing medicine, his management of the work culture under him and allegations of his consumption of alcohol while on the job.

The report details allegations of a work environment in which subordinates worked in “constant fear of reprisal” and described Jackson’s behavior as “unethical” and “explosive.” It also contains claims that Jackson was drunk while on duty overseas on multiple occasions, including one episode in which he allegedly crashed a government vehicle during a going-away party for a Secret Service member.

Jackson, speaking to a group of reporters at the White House late on Wednesday, denied the allegations, saying he “never crashed a car” and that he had “no idea where that is coming from.” He also appeared to voice his intention to carry on with the nomination, telling reporters, “We’re still moving ahead as planned.”

Trump, speaking on "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning within minutes of the White House's announcement, continued to defend Jackson as an "incredible man." The president called the allegations about Jackson's conduct "false" and framed the reports as part of an effort to "destroy" the physician.

"He would have a done a great job. A tremendous heart," the president said. "These are all false accusations. These are false. They are trying to destroy a man. By the way, I did say welcome to Washington. Welcome to the swamp. Welcome to the world of politics."

"I want to tell you that Jon Tester, I think this is going to cause him a lot of problems in his state," Trump said. Tester is facing a tough re-election in November in a state that Trump won resoundingly in 2016.

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Tester said he was told that Jackson would hand out prescriptions “like candy,” a remark that received a rebuke from the White House. Tester separately told NPR that Jackson “was repeatedly drunk while on duty where his main job was to take care of the most powerful man in the world,” citing discussions with people who know the official.

The White House pushed back against the reports on Wednesday, with Sanders praising Jackson’s track record as “impeccable” in his capacity as physician to the president. Sanders maintained that by serving in multiple administrations, Jackson “has received more vetting” than other nominees and that “none” of the allegations came up during the processes.

Trump on Tuesday seemingly opened the door for Jackson to resign, though he said he would back the physician as long as he wanted to seek the job.

“I’d let it be his choice,” the president said during a news conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. “But he’s a man who has just been an extraordinary person. His family, extraordinary success, great doctor, great everything, and he has to listen to the abuse that he has to. I wouldn’t, if I were him — actually in many ways I’d love to be him — but the fact is, I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. What does he need it for?”

Jackson gained public notice earlier this year when he gave extensive remarks to reporters detailing Trump’s health. During a highly publicized news briefing in January, Jackson deftly fielded questions from reporters on the president’s yearly physical — and claimed Trump’s weight was one pound below what would make the president qualify as obese.

“All clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency,” Jackson said.

After Jackson announced his withdrawal Thursday, Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, the chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, issued a statement saying, “I respect his decision, and I thank Admiral Jackson for his service to the country.”

In his own statement, Tester thanked staffers "who bravely spoke out over the past week" about their reservations toward Jackson. Looking ahead, the lawmaker said whomever was chosen to replace Jackson as VA secretary nominee ought to "have a commitment to reform a strained health care system and a willingness to stand up to special interests who want to privatize the VA."

"My sleeves are rolled up and ready to work with Chairman Isakson to vet and confirm a Secretary who is fit to run the VA," he said.

Asked by Fox News on Thursday whether he had another candidate in mind to lead the VA, Trump suggested he did but did not give a name.

“I do, actually. Better not give it," the president said. "I think we'll have somebody great. Somebody that is more — look, the admiral is not a politician, which is what I liked. … Somebody with political capability, yes.”