Nation/World

Trump hints that Veterans Affairs nominee might withdraw amid criticism

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acknowledged Tuesday that Ronny L. Jackson, his nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, is in serious trouble amid allegations that he oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House doctor, allowed the overprescribing of drugs and possibly drank on the job.

Speaking at a news conference with the president of France, Trump strongly defended Jackson as "one of the finest people that I have met," but he hinted that Jackson might soon withdraw from consideration, blaming Democrats for mounting an unfair attack on his nominee's record.

"I don't want to put a man through a process like this," Trump said, calling the allegations about Jackson "ugly." The president said, "The fact is, I wouldn't do it. What does he need it for? To be abused by a number of politicians?"

"It's totally his decision," Trump added, saying that he had talked with Jackson earlier in the day. Trump angrily accused his adversaries on Capitol Hill of going after Jackson because they had failed to block Mike Pompeo, the president's nominee to become the next secretary of state.

"They failed to stop him, so now they say 'who's next?'" the president told reporters during the news conference in the East Room.

The concern over Jackson's nomination, however, is bipartisan. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee launched its investigation last week, and the committee's Republican and Democratic leaders jointly announced Tuesday that Jackson's confirmation hearing, planned for this Wednesday, would be postponed indefinitely.

"The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs is postponing the hearing to consider the nominee to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in light of new information presented to the committee," said Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the committee chairman, and Jon Tester of Montana, its top Democrat, in a joint statement which did not detail the allegations.

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"We take very seriously our constitutional duty to thoroughly and carefully vet each nominee sent to the Senate for confirmation," they added. "We will continue looking into these serious allegations and have requested additional information from the White House to enable the committee to conduct a full review."

In a letter to the president, both senators requested "any and all communication" between the Defense Department, the White House Military Office and the White House medical unit "regarding allegations or incidents" involving Jackson back to 2006.

"I have very serious questions that need to be addressed, and they should be addressed right now, like today," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the committee.

Officials familiar with the allegations against Jackson declined to offer precise details but said that they suggest a pattern of behavior, not just one or two isolated incidents.

But Republicans did push back on the alcohol allegation. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said that Jackson told him during a one-on-one meeting Tuesday that "he has never had a drink while on duty." Moran said Jackson did not specifically address other allegations against him, but indicated that he intended to move ahead as the nominee.

Republicans did indicate the charges are serious. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the committee, said he was still waiting to see if the accusations "have weight" before rendering a judgment. But, he added, "If the allegations were based in fact, it would be concerning."

Jackson, a rear admiral in the Navy, was already expected to face difficult questioning during his testimony before the committee. Last month, Trump fired his first Veterans Affairs secretary, David J. Shulkin, an experienced hospital administrator and veteran of the VA medical system, and then chose Jackson largely out of personal affinity.

The White House did little or no vetting of his background before announcing his nomination on Twitter. Before serving as a White House physician, Jackson had deployed as an emergency medicine physician to Taqaddum, Iraq, during the Iraq War.

The nominee, speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill before meeting with a Republican senator Tuesday afternoon, gave no indication that he would withdraw. He said that he was "disappointed" that his confirmation hearing had been postponed. But he did not deny or answer questions about the charges.

"I'm looking forward to getting it rescheduled and answering everybody's questions," he said.

The turmoil around his nomination all but ensures that the department, the federal government's 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 programs that allow veterans to seek care from private doctors at government expense.

The Senate received paperwork from the Trump administration formalizing Jackson's nomination only last week.

"It has been really careless, maybe even negligent about the vetting in a number of these nominations," Blumenthal said.

Senators were keeping the details of their investigation under wraps but let it be known that the allegations are serious. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, said she had heard enough from colleagues to have "deep concerns" about the nomination. "This is concerning even for a very ethically challenging White House," she said.

Asked if he still supported the nominee, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, offered only, "We're going to wait and see what Sen. Isakson and the administration recommend."

Committee Democrats met briefly Monday evening to discuss how to proceed. Tester is leading the investigation. Tester then met with Isakson on Tuesday morning shortly before announcing the postponement.

The White House defended Jackson's record in a statement, but did not address the nature of the claims against him.

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"Adm. Jackson has been on the front lines of deadly combat and saved the lives of many others in service to this country. He's served as the physician to three presidents — Republican and Democrat — and been praised by them all," said Hogan Gidley, a deputy White House press secretary. "Adm. Jackson's record of strong, decisive leadership is exactly what's needed at the VA to ensure our veterans receive the benefits they deserve."

Lawmakers were already preparing to press Jackson on his views on the role of private medical care for veterans, instead of the department's government-run health care system. Senators planned to challenge his lack of management experience running a large organization. The department employs more than 370,000 people and operates sprawling health and veterans benefits systems.

Shulkin had been in the final stages of negotiating a contract to build a new, $10 billion electronic health records system that for the first time would be compatible with health records from both the military and community providers. The current system is 40 years old and fraught with inefficiencies that often get in the way of providing care.

A second large agenda item is redesigning the so-called "choice" rules that control when and how veterans use health care outside the government system. A compromise bill in Congress that streamlined the current system fell apart this winter. Veterans advocates fear that without strong leadership to push a new bill, veterans will be left with the current system, which many say is arbitrary and denies care to veterans in need.

Before his nomination, Jackson had garnered little public attention and his policy views were unknown. He took a rare turn in the spotlight in January, when he appeared on national television to announce the results of Trump's first physical while in office. At the time, there was speculation over the president's physical and mental health, and Jackson offered effusive compliments on both. Trump was pleased with the performance.

"I've found no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes," Jackson said. At one point, he even quipped that given Trump's genetics, he might live to 200 years old if he had a healthier diet.

Trump fired his first Veterans Affairs secretary amid deep ideological disagreements over privatization of care at the department and extended fallout from a scathing report by its inspector general about a trip that Shulkin had taken last year to Britain and Denmark. Shulkin, a politically moderate physician and former hospital executive, remained well-liked on Capitol Hill and among veterans groups, who felt he was a pragmatic leader who understood the department intimately.

Dave Philipps contributed reporting.

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