Ronny Jackson is withdrawing from consideration as Veterans Affairs Secretary. He apparently did not like what he termed “fake news” when accusations of prescribing and imbibing practices were revealed.
Ronny Jackson has been a White House physician since 2006 and he was tapped to run the VA. Now on paper this is not a bad thing. Dr. Ronny Jackson after all is a medical doctor and the VA handles medical. Unfortunately Ronny Jackson in my opinion is not fit for the job because there are questions about his over prescribing opioids and drinking and driving while on duty. Bipartisan questions per the Associated Press was the reason.
The White House sent out a statement from Jackson Thursday morning. He says he “did not expect to have to dignify baseless and anonymous attacks on my character and integrity.”
Jackson has faced a series of accusations about his workplace conduct, including that recklessly prescribed drugs and exhibited drunken behavior.
Republican senators had some concerns as CBS reports here
The allegations against Jackson stem from 20 active duty and former military members, Tester told NPR on Tuesday. Tester said these allegations began to arise as people who knew Jackson came forward, not because he and his staff sought them out.
Later, Tester spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the allegations, among them, that Jackson loosely dispensed sleep-related prescription medications ambien and provigil. “In the White House,” Tester said, “they call him the ‘candy man.'”
Yeah that is a red flag to be sure. And Trump reacted to these reports.
Speaking to Fox News’ Fox and Friends on Thursday shortly after Jackson announced his withdrawal, President Trump said he “saw where this was going” but said Tester would have a “big price to pay” for his comments on Jackson.
“The kind of things he was saying, there’s no proof of this, he’s got a perfect record, unblemished,” said Mr. Trump of Jackson. “For him to be doing to this to this man and his family, Jon Tester has to have a big price to pay in Montana,” he warned.
Jon Tester did his job. Part of the approval process is doing background checks. And the VA deserves the best. I give the administration props for choosing someone in the medical field but their due diligence frankly sucks. If Dr. Jackson actually did drink and drive on duty, lots and lots of questions arise. Starting with where the hell was the Secret Service (who protects the POTUS)? And why did nobody catch that earlier and put his butt in a diversion program? And is there an issue with the medical staff at the White House? Hopefully, Naval Medical is asking these questions.
To the administration, you might want to do a lot more background checks before announcing someone as a cabinet level nominee. Because you can bet the kid they took to the sixth grade dance will be found by the media. This goes for both parties sadly. Ronny Jackson was a piss poor pick. He is the last person I want anywhere near veterans health care. And Jon Tester did his job.
ej says: “The kid they took to the third grade dance”? What the hell are you talking about? This entire article is biased BS. Anyone that has even remotely followed political news knows that the MSM has been caught in multiple lies against this administration and their political picks. The author automatically assumes that this doctor, who has been the White House physician for THREE administrations, is a drunken, dope pedaling medical hack. I have been following this site on Twitter for some time and have come across some questionable articles, but this one tops them all.
Adios.
Gail Boer says: Actually security clearances do go talk to a first grade teacher. Best wishes to you ej.
Kate says: So how did the FBI exactly investigate if none of the current allegations ever surfaced during FOUR (!) background investigations? The most likely scenario is these new allegations are all BS. He was the doctor to 3 presidents. If he were sketchy in any way, that would not have happened.
Was he a piss poor choice? I’m not so sure.
GWB says: I don’t see anything at all about the FBI investigating in this post.
Kate says: Hi GWB
I read it somewhere else and was using it to frame my response.
Gail Boer says: Here is the issue for me: There were allegations made. He could have answered them and been an excellent choice for the VA if he had done so. He withdrew instead. That right there tells me he was a bad pick. The agency is in crisis. It needs a leader who can handle raging veterans, congress critters and staffers who want to do things the way they have always been done. In other words a swamp drainer.
Kate says: STATEMENT FROM REAR ADMIRAL RONNY JACKSON
“One of the greatest honors in my life has been to serve this country as a physician both on the battlefield with United States Marines and as proud member of the United States Navy.
It has been my distinct honor and privilege to work at the White House and serve three Presidents.
Going into this process, I expected tough questions about how to best care for our veterans, but I did not expect to have to dignify baseless and anonymous attacks on my character and integrity.
The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated. 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.
In my role as a doctor, I have tirelessly worked to provide excellent care for all my patients. In doing so, I have always adhered to the highest ethical standards.
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.
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.
I am proud of my service to the country and will always be committed to the brave veterans who volunteer to defend our freedoms.”
Gail Boer says: I hate to say it but his response confirms he was the wrong man for a dreadful thankless job. The VA is horrendous in many places. It took decades to become the mess it is. And our vets are consistently denied care in too many places. I hope someone can step in and clean the VA up and let the staff serve the vets. Because most of the staff is there to serve those who protected and served us.
GWB says: Yet, no one will – because the process IS the punishment.
And his withdrawal in this day and age, with the hell the left puts people through (look at the FCC and EPA folks), is not even remotely suggestive of guilt.
Johnny says: Sorry, I don’t buy it. I’m going with the simplest explanation here.
As has been mentioned before, this man was perfectly acceptable when he was being vetted for four previous background checks in three different administrations, and suddenly, surprise of surprises, when President Trump nominates him, he is found to be one step removed from Dr. Josef Mengele.
The tone of your piece indicates the dirt they’ve thrown pushes some buttons for you. Fine.
Myself, when I feel like engaging in preachy moralizing about someone else I try to recall Matthew’s advice “Judge not, lest ye be judged” or even better his boss’s advice “Let ye who is without sin cast the first stone”.
We really need to stop enabling these arbitrary character assassinations in the name of “resistance”.
Gail Boer says: He is not anything like Mengele. He had allegations made about his conduct while in the service. He chose not to answer the allegations. And for whatever reason he stepped back. He was being considered for a cabinet level post. The buttons pushed (I do not trigger but do have concerns about judgement calls made by someone who is impaired). His reaction disqualified him, not the allegations.
GWB says: when his ALLEGED prescribing and imbibing practices were revealed
FIFY.
Bipartisan questions per the Associated Press was the reason.
Where’s the bipartisan, again? Isakson? Sorry, but you can get a Republican senator to sign off on almost anything if it makes them look like a team player. And note Isakson’s hobby horse right now is “the opioid crisis”. So this fits right in with his schtick, and he gets to hang a skin on his wall.
The allegations against Jackson stem from 20 active duty and former military members
Then name them. Bring them out and let them be cross-examined. Otherwise, I call BULLS#!T.
Jon Tester did his job.
BULLS#!T. Tester tossed out an unfounded allegation to the media so they could chew on it in public view. That’s not his job – unless you mean his job as part of #theResistance.
Part of the approval process is doing background checks.
Where the hell was a “background check” part of what Tester did? Jackson already had a background check to become part of the White House permanent staff. What Tester did – unless he can back It up – is called “character assassination“.
If Dr. Jackson actually did drink and drive on duty
Then it’s unlikely the US Navy would have covered it up. They LOVE to crucify folks for that.
By your standard, I could say “Well, if Gail did beat her children every night before bed…” and it’s not slander. Instead, it means you should hang up your blogging hat. Is that really the standard you’re setting? It’s the one antifa, BLM, the leftmedia and other progressives love.
lots and lots of questions arise
Yeah, like why the hell isn’t the senator already faced with slander charges? Like, where the hell was the media for the 8 years this guy worked for 0bama, if true?
Ronny Jackson was a piss poor pick. He is the last person I want anywhere near veterans health care.
On what basis? The totally unfounded accusations of a Democrat politician?!?
Wow, Gail, this is a weak-sauce, piss-poor, unsubstantiated, emotional post screed.
Gail Boer says: Response: the opioid crisis is a horribly real thing around my neck of the woods. And it is lethal for more people than the addict (Narcan is in every cop car, fire truck and ambulance in my area to keep the first responders from dying. Carfentanyl kills fast). And all sorts of people are tracking certain medications thanks to these addicts (try getting sudafed from the shelves at CVS).
I agree that the accusers should have been face to face. But the nomination process for a cabinet level post is not a pretty thing in a very partisan world (or swamp) and Ronny Jackson lived in DC and saw the senate work from inside the swamp. Now to the If he drank drove and wrecked government property, yeah that may have been handled or hidden depending on his command. I hate to say it but a field or flag grade officer does get different treatment. And he was medical not on ship or in the field so it is possible to have this kept quiet. I get it: it sucks to be falsely accused (we have all been there on some level at least once in our careers) but the VA Secretary would have involved a lot of ugly and it would be personal. Best to you,
GWB says: And that “ugly and personal” is precisely why loads of folks are walking away from gov’t positions today. The process IS the punishment.
(try getting sudafed from the shelves at CVS)
That long predated the current fad of “opioid crisis”. And, yes, it is a problem, and it is also a fad. (While it is a real issue, it’s not what politicians and the media have tried to turn it into. For them it’s an issue to be exploited.) None of the answers can come from gov’t on the actual crisis. All they can do is make it harder for the rest of us to live. (Oh, and if meth – which is what you make from Sudafed – is considered part of the “opioid crisis”, then it simply proves my point, since methamphetamine is NOT an opiate. That some people mix it with an opiate does not make meth part of the “opioid crisis”.)
Gail Boer says: Meth is not part of the Opioid crisis but it is an ongoing issue. Opioids are controlled substances. They are super addictive prescription only meds and every insurance agency, the DEA and state medical associations are tracking these scripts and questioning “too many scripts”. In fact, pain meds are prescribed less and less because doctors want to keep their DEA license to prescribe. And stay out of prison,
Jodi says: So we’re rubber-stamping character assassination without regard to verifiable proof now? That truly is dangerous territory. Any one of us could be next. John Tester trotted himself out and repeated these claims on national television as FACT. He should be voted out of office post haste.
Gail Boer says: No rubber stamping but the wrong guy for a thankless sucky and incredibly important job. The VA needs a pit bull to push back against organizational rot at all levels.
Jodi says: That’s a fair point, Gail. Presenting the accusations as fact is not.
Gail Boer says: I hope someone does have the strength to strengthen the good and clear out the horrible when there is a Veteran’s Affairs Secretary appointed. That is like one of Hercules’ twelve tasks to clean up. Like I said points for finding an MD but it needs an insider who is an outsider to do it. There are incredible sites and staff in the VA who are there for all the right reasons. They deserve a great administrator.
GWB says: What’s hilarious is one of the “You may also like” selections that comes up above the comments is the pro-Jackson post from back in January. The one where Deanna wonders how people could think Jackson is such a Trump stooge, since he’s been in the position since 2013.
*smh*
Jodi says: FYI: The Secret Service disputes the “drunk door banging” story. They have no record of it. https://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2018/04/27/disgusting-katie-pavlich-calls-out-cnn-after-secret-service-officially-disputes-report-on-dr-ronny-jackson/ Also: there are any number of reasons why Jackson decided to withdraw his name and refrain from answering the accusations. Here’s one: North and South Korea are making what could amount to historic moves toward peace on the peninsula. Is it out of the realm of possibility that Jackson simply didn’t want to give the frothing-at-the-mouth liberal media a story to focus on to deflect from a monumental story that debunks their “Trump will start WWIII” predictions? No. It’s not.
Gail Boer says: Jackson was not the right pick for the job. none of these scenarios make him the right pick. And had he responded to the accusations I may have had a different opinion.
Jodi says: Your opinion that he’s not the right pick is a perfectly valid one. But when you try to back up your opinion by repeating AS FACT salacious allegations we now know are very likely false, that’s where you lose the argument.
Gail Boer says: Thanks. I gave the senators a bit too much credit and expected honesty (no idea why) this time. I really really hope the next appointee is vetted and goes in loaded for bear.
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