Ronny Jackson, Trump's pick to run the Veterans Affairs department, withdraws his bid over mounting misconduct allegations
- Ronny Jackson, the White House physician who President Donald Trump nominated to the Veterans Affairs agency, withdrew his name from consideration for the job on Thursday.
- Jackson found himself in the middle of a growing scandal this week, after multiple allegations of workplace misconduct emerged.
- Among the as-yet unverified allegations are claims of excessive drinking while on the job, and an accusation that he provided "a large supply" of prescription opioids to a White House military officer.
- The White House stood by Jackson as recently as Tuesday, even as Trump hinted that the doctor should withdraw his bid for the VA role. The doctor met with officials there on Wednesday.
Ronny Jackson, the White House physician nominated by President Donald Trump to run the US Department of Veterans Affairs, withdrew his name from consideration for the role on Thursday.
"Unfortunately, because of how Washington works, these false allegations have become a distraction for this President and the important issue we must be addressing - how we give the best care to our nation's heroes," Jackson said in a statement.
Jackson found himself in the middle of a runaway scandal this week as multiple accusations of workplace misconduct emerged. Among the claims, which Senate lawmakers were working to verify, Jackson was accused of professional misconduct, including providing "a large supply" of prescription opioids to a White House military officer.
Other as-yet-unverified accounts pointed to "excessive drinking on the job." That thread preceded a claim revealed on Tuesday, that Jackson drunkenly banged on a staffer's hotel-room door during an overseas trip in 2015.
Jackson met with White House officials on Wednesday night. As he left, Jackson told reporters "Look forward to talking to you guys in the next few days," a CNN White House reporter said. The White House later said the decision on whether or not to withdraw was Jackson's to make.
Jackson has also been under closer scrutiny regarding whether he is qualified to run the VA, the second-largest federal agency in the US. The management experience required for the role far exceeds what Jackson can offer. As the White House physician, Jackson led a medical staff of about two dozen people. The VA is a deeply troubled agency with 375,000 employees.
President Barack Obama's former deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, said last week that Trump choosing Jackson to run the VA "was the worst choice you could possibly imagine."
"It's like having your Uber driver park the space shuttle," Messina said.
Montel Williams, the former TV talk-show host and a US Marine and US Navy veteran, urged Jackson to withdraw. "This is too much, and Donald never should have put him through this on an impulse," Williams said on Twitter.
The previous VA secretary, David Shulkin, left the agency in March amid a scandal of his own.
Separately, the misconduct allegations against Jackson have opened up the Trump administration to new criticism over the process by which it vets appointees. Political communications expert and Boston University professor Tobe Berkovitz told The Hill: "It's one more bit of proof, as if any were needed, that the Trump White House are not exactly the best vetters in the world when it comes to any kind of position."