{"id":63993,"date":"2018-04-25T04:26:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T04:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=63993"},"modified":"2018-04-25T04:26:34","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T04:26:34","slug":"after-trump-hints-v-a-nominee-might-drop-out-an-aggressive-show-of-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/after-trump-hints-v-a-nominee-might-drop-out-an-aggressive-show-of-support.html","title":{"rendered":"After Trump Hints V.A. Nominee Might Drop Out, an Aggressive Show of Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Trump Hints V.A. Nominee Might Drop Out, an Aggressive Show of Support<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

President Trump acknowledged Tuesday that Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, his nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, is in serious trouble amid accusations that as the White House doctor he oversaw a hostile work environment, improperly dispensed prescription drugs and possibly drank on the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking at a midday news conference with the president of France, Mr. Trump strongly defended Dr. Jackson, the White House physician, as \u201cone of the finest people that I have met,\u201d but he hinted that Dr. Jackson might soon withdraw from consideration, blaming Democrats for mounting an unfair attack on his nominee\u2019s record.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to put a man through a process like this,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cThe fact is, I wouldn\u2019t do it. What does he need it for?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By Tuesday evening, however, Mr. Trump and Dr. Jackson met face-to-face, and the White House moved aggressively to defend the doctor against what the president had called \u201cugly\u201d abuse by politicians. A White House statement said that Dr. Jackson\u2019s record was \u201cimpeccable\u201d and insisted that he would not be \u201crailroaded\u201d by false accusations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The concern over Dr. Jackson\u2019s nomination is bipartisan and emerged after Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee interviews with more than 20 people, including current and former military personnel who had worked with him. The committee began an investigation last week into Dr. Jackson\u2019s White House work record, and its Republican and Democratic leaders jointly announced Tuesday that his confirmation hearing, planned for Wednesday, would be postponed indefinitely \u201cin light of new information presented to the committee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe take very seriously our constitutional duty to thoroughly and carefully vet each nominee sent to the Senate for confirmation,\u201d said Senators Johnny Isakson of Georgia, the committee chairman, and Jon Tester of Montana, its top Democrat, in a joint statement. \u201cWe will continue looking into these serious allegations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Jackson, speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill before meeting with a Republican senator Tuesday afternoon, gave no indication that he would withdraw his nomination. He also did not answer questions about the accusations.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he added, \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting it rescheduled and answering everybody\u2019s questions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of Mr. Tester\u2019s staff said that they had been given several credible accounts of Dr. Jackson being intoxicated during official White House travel. In several cases, they said, he had apparently grabbed his medical bag and was \u201cattempting to assert himself,\u201d to show he was in charge.<\/span><\/p>\n

On one trip during Barack Obama\u2019s presidency, White House staff needed to reach Dr. Jackson for medical reasons and found him passed out in his hotel room after a night of drinking, Tester aides said. The staff members took the medical supplies they were looking for without waking Dr. Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cHe is the primary attendant of the president, the most powerful man in the world,\u201d Mr. Tester said in an interview late Tuesday. \u201cYou don\u2019t know when he is going to need you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Tester said that there was no evidence before the committee that Dr. Jackson had shown up drunk to the White House.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response, White House officials described Dr. Jackson\u2019s record as \u201cimpeccable,\u201d and they distributed glowing comments that they said Mr. Obama wrote in Dr. Jackson\u2019s annual military performance review.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRonny does a great job \u2014 genuine enthusiasm, poised under pressure, incredible work ethic and follow through,\u201d Mr. Obama said of Dr. Jackson in 2016, according to information released Tuesday evening by White House officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of both parties also pushed back on the alcohol accusation. Senator Jerry Moran, Republican of Kansas, said that Dr. Jackson told him on Tuesday that \u201che has never had a drink while on duty.\u201d Mr. Moran also said that Dr. Jackson did not specifically address other accusations against him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brian McKeon, who served as chief of staff for the Obama National Security Council, said he does not recall Dr. Jackson ever drinking to excess. \u201cI am not even sure that I ever saw him in a hotel bar,\u201d Mr. McKeon wrote in an email Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Tester said that the committee had also received credible accusations that Dr. Jackson routinely distributed Ambien, a prescription sleep aid, which is not a narcotic, to White House staff and members of the news media flying on long overseas trips, as well as Provigil, a prescription drug for promoting wakefulness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Tester said that he had spoken with John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, about the accusations on Monday. Mr. Kelly, he said, told him that the distribution of sleep aids and wakefulness drugs was \u201cstandard operating procedure.\u201d Mr. Tester said he disagreed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a prescription drug problem in this country, and if we have doctors at the highest levels who are just handing them out like candy, we have a problem,\u201d Mr. Tester said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a letter to the president on Tuesday, Mr. Tester and Mr. Isakson requested \u201cany and all communication\u201d between the Defense Department, the White House Military Office and the White House medical unit \u201cregarding allegations or incidents\u201d involving Dr. Jackson date to 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Tester said the committee had also received reports of a \u201ctoxic work environment\u201d in the White House medical unit, which Dr. Jackson has overseen since 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat would involve belittling, screaming, verbally abusing the staff to the point where he would explode and the staff would feel they were on eggshells,\u201d Mr. Tester said. He added that several of the people the committee had spoken with still work in the medical unit and are fearful of reprisals.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, a six-page report by the Navy\u2019s medical inspector general found low morale and \u201cunprofessional behaviors\u201d as Dr. Jackson and his superior, Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, battled for control of the White House medical office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Tester, a moderate Democrat up for re-election this fall, firmly rejected Mr. Trump\u2019s assertion that the accusations had been politically motivated by partisan Democrats in Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had 12 appointees come before the committee, and I\u2019ve supported every damn one of them,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to play politics with the V.A.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Republicans agreed the accusations are serious. Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a member of the committee, said, \u201cIf the allegations were based in fact, it would be concerning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Jackson, a rear admiral in the Navy, was already expected to face difficult questioning during his testimony before the committee. Last month, Mr. Trump fired his first Veterans Affairs secretary, David J. Shulkin, an experienced hospital administrator and veteran of the department\u2019s medical system, and then chose Dr. Jackson largely out of personal affinity.<\/span><\/p>\n

As White House physician, Dr. Jackson had undergone intense vetting for a position that gives him unusually close access to the president. But Mr. Trump\u2019s abrupt nomination of his personal doctor to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs pre-empted any review of Dr. Jackson\u2019s qualifications to manage a large bureaucracy. Officials said there was virtually no examination of Dr. Jackson\u2019s policy views before the announcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before serving as a White House physician, Dr. Jackson had deployed as an emergency medicine physician to Taqaddum, Iraq, during the Iraq war.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Tester and Mr. Isakson said they would withhold a final judgment until they completed their investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than a half-dozen former White House officials who served with Dr. Jackson in Mr. Obama\u2019s administration expressed support for him. None said they recalled him ever being drunk or loosely dispensing medications.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe always seemed to be to be alert, responsive, responsible,\u201d said David Axelrod, who served as Mr. Obama\u2019s senior adviser. \u201cMy impressions were positive. My interactions were positive. I never heard any complaints.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The turmoil around his nomination all but ensures that the Department of Veterans Affairs, the federal government\u2019s second largest, will remain without a permanent leader for at least several weeks at a moment when it was supposed to be adopting systematic changes to its electronic health records system and to programs that allow veterans to seek care from private doctors at government expense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senate received paperwork from the Trump administration formalizing Dr. Jackson\u2019s nomination only last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been really careless, maybe even negligent, about the vetting in a number of these nominations,\u201d Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said of the White House.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if he still supported the nominee, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, offered only, \u201cWe\u2019re going to wait and see what Senator Isakson and the administration recommend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The White House defended Dr. Jackson\u2019s record in a statement, but did not address the nature of the claims against him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Jackson has been on the front lines of deadly combat and saved the lives of many others in service to this country,\u201d said Hogan Gidley, a deputy White House press secretary. \u201cHe\u2019s served as the physician to three presidents \u2014 Republican and Democrat \u2014 and been praised by them all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers were already preparing to press Dr. Jackson on his views on the role of private medical care for veterans, instead of the department\u2019s government-run health care system. Senators also planned to challenge his lack of management experience running a large organization \u2014 the department employs more than 370,000 people and operates sprawling health and veterans benefits systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before his nomination, Dr. Jackson had garnered little public attention. He took a rare turn in the spotlight in January, when he appeared on national television to announce the results of Mr. Trump\u2019s first physical while in office. At the time, there was speculation over the president\u2019s physical and mental health, and Dr. Jackson offered effusive compliments on both. Mr. Trump was pleased with the performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point, Dr. Jackson even quipped that given Mr. Trump\u2019s genetics, he might live to 200 years old if he had a healthier diet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/24\/us\/politics\/ronny-jackson-veterans-affairs.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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