And just like that, the nomination of Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, physician to three presidents, to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs, is on the ropes. Tuesday, word began to leak out of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that unspecified allegations of past issues were placing his nomination in peril. His nomination hearing, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed.
In a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Trump essentially threw Jackson under the proverbial bus. “What do you need this for?” he said he told Jackson, ominously adding: “it’s totally his decision.”
Trump nominated Jackson to succeed the fired Dr. David Shulkin last month. He already faced an uphill battle due to his lack of experience managing an enterprise anywhere near as large as the VA. The department is, after all, the second largest federal agency after the Department of Defense. A Republican congressman I spoke with Tuesday evening (who will remain anonymous), said that Jackson seemed to be a fine physician, but he wished Trump had nominated someone who’d run a large healthcare organization.
For his part, the president had pushed back on that very line of attack in his press conference, saying, “the Veterans Administration — which is approximately 13 million people — is so big, you could run the biggest hospital system in the world and it’s small time compared to the Veterans Administration. So nobody has the experience.” Such is the nature of “the swamp.”
“20 former and current members of the military”
As the day progressed, more details emerged, and frankly, the way they emerged is more troubling than the allegations themselves.
Sen. Johnny Isakson, the Georgia Republican who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Montana Sen. John Tester, the committee’s ranking Democrat, announced the hearing’s delay in a joint statement. They cited “new information presented to the committee.” The allegations — that Jackson dispensed pills “like candy,” that he drank alcohol to excess during presidential trips, and that he presided over a toxic work environment — come from 20 whistleblowers who allegedly approached the committee in the last week.
Pardon me when I say this sounds just a little too convenient.
The number of general and flag officers on active duty is set by law. For the Navy, there can be no more than 162 flag officers at any given time. The Navy’s current end strength is 327,900, meaning there are more than 2,000 sailors for every admiral in the force. Even among officers, flag officers comprise only a 0.3 percent of the total.
Against such incredible odds, it’s fair to say that one doesn’t become an admiral or a general without a completely spotless record. Even a whiff of impropriety is enough to keep a Navy captain (or Army, Marine, and Air Force colonel) from gaining his star. So where were these allegations when Jackson was considered for promotion?
These “whistleblowers” say that as a Navy captain, Jackson clashed with another doctor in the White House Medical Unit. In the end, Jackson remained and his rival was reassigned, although apparently promoted as well. And despite the allegations of excessive alcohol use during presidential voyages, President Obama gave Jackson a glowing review.
As for a “toxic work environment,” that has become the standard phrase thrown around by people who resent being held to performance standards. It’s natural that someone who’s told their work is below par would resent the boss. There are genuinely toxic leaders. But they’re not as common as the climate surveys would have us believe.
And let’s face it: if there’s an organization that needs a whip-cracker at the helm, it’s the Department of Veterans Affairs.
There are two proper channels when one wants to “blow the whistle” on a superior: Congress, or the Inspector General (either of the individual service, or the Department of Defense). The IGs take all complaints seriously. If these 20 military members had an issue with Jackson, the time to raise it was when the issue was fresh, not weeks after his nomination to a cabinet-level position.
Coming forward now should be a giant red flag for anyone trying to evaluate Jackson’s fitness for office. His critics are right; Jackson lacks the management experience necessary to run the VA. But as the president said, so does almost anyone. These last-minute revelations smack of a politically motivated hit job.
Jackson may not be the best man for the job, but he doesn’t deserve this character assassination.
