April 24, 2018

White House Defiant Amid Allegations Jeopardizing Ronny Jackson’s VA Nomination

Ting Shen/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

The White House on Tuesday defended Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, after troubling allegations surfaced surrounding Jackson’s workplace conduct.

“Admiral Jackson has been on the front lines of deadly combat and saved the lives of many others in serve to this country,” a statement from White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley read. “He’s served as the physician to three Presidents—Republican and Democrat—and has been praised by them all.”

The expression of support came shortly after a Senate committee announced that it was indefinitely postponing Jackson’s confirmation hearings—which were originally scheduled to start Wednesday—as lawmakers became aware of the accusations. The exact nature of the allegations have not been confirmed, but CBS News reported late Monday that they included claims of “excessive” drinking on the job, “improperly dispensing meds,” and that he had created a “hostile work environment.” (The New York Times separately confirmed those allegations later on Tuesday.) It is unclear if the allegations came from current or previous White House medical staff.

The statement from the White House Tuesday appeared to hit at such concerns, adding that “Admiral Jackson’s record of strong, decisive leadership is exactly what’s needed at the VA to ensure our veterans receive the benefits they deserve.”

This new information threatens to upend an already fraught nomination, with both Republicans and Democrats having voiced serious concerns over Jackson’s lack of management experience to helm one of the most troubled agencies in federal government. (Jackson was a combat surgeon in Iraq and has worked at the White House for 12 years, serving under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.)

Trump’s decision last month to replace his Veterans Affair secretary with Jackson reportedly did not involve any proper vetting normally reserved for a cabinet position. Jackson first received national attention in January after delivering a glowing report on Trump’s physical and mental health. 

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate