The Senate is holding up confirmation for Ronny Jackson to be the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, after receiving reports Jackson abused alcohol on the job and improperly dispensed medicine.
Jackson was slated to testify before the Senate on Thursday, but that hearing has now been postponed.
CBS News reported that, over the past several weeks, employees of Jackson have told Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs, that Jackson was unfit to lead the VA.
Sources familiar with the tales say Sen. Jon Tester’s committee staff is reviewing multiple allegations of a “hostile work environment.” The accusations include “excessive drinking on the job, improperly dispensing meds,” said one of the people familiar, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the situation. The other people familiar with the stories also confirmed those details.
Jackson is the personal doctor to President Donald Trump and burst into the national consciousness after he declared the president was six-foot-four; Trump had previously been listed as six-foot-three, making people speculate the doctor added an extra inch to keep the president from being formally declared obese.
Jackson also asserted that President Trump could live to 200 in his press conference.
Now, Twitter thinks it all makes sense.
That explains alot tbh. https://t.co/WZWtbBXnkF
— Lesha Romeo (@LeshaRomeo) April 24, 2018
Explains that glowing report on POTUS’s physical and mental health a little bit, huh? https://t.co/SKiQ0NYnuZ
— Judy, Judy, Judy 😷 🇺🇸 (@JudyHallHoward) April 24, 2018
Trump’s stellar medical explained. https://t.co/ialhSmYAmp
— JKRamon 🎵🇨🇦🎵 (@jkramon1313) April 24, 2018
this explains so much https://t.co/v9AgV0xWV1
— Scafe says wear a gd mask (@erinscafe) April 24, 2018
Would be shocked to learn that the man who deemed Trump to be in perfect health is an irresponsible person. https://t.co/Xp7gzcF1VG
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) April 24, 2018
Tester said to the Washington Post that the committee was reviewing Jackson’s qualifications.
“I can tell you we’re vetting out Jackson,” said Tester. “I can’t get into specifics, but we’re doing our job to make sure he’s fit for the job.”
Jackson was unexpectedly announced as a Trump’s pick for VA on Twitter, and many immediately raised questions about the one-star Navy admiral who had never managed an organization remotely approaching the size and scale of the Department of Veterans Affairs.