Jon Tester didn't intend to play a central role in taking down President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department. Yet that's exactly what the Montana Democrat ended up doing

And now, Trump is coming after him.


The president is enraged over Tester’s work documenting allegations of malfeasance by Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, which quickly unraveled Jackson’s nomination to be VA secretary and marks a turning point in the relationship between the moderate Democrat and Trump.

As Tester’s reelection campaign kicks into high gear, Trump is more motivated than ever to campaign against him in the ruby-red state — accusing the senator of irresponsibly leaking the damaging information to undermine the president's nominee.

Trump said Thursday that Tester will have a “big price to pay” for his part in working to sink Jackson’s nomination. But Tester is sanguine about his decision to go public with accusations about Jackson’s workplace misconduct, poor prescription practices and drinking on the job.

“If he thinks it’s my job to sweep his stuff under the table and ignore our military folks, he’s wrong. If he thinks I should not be sticking up for veterans, he’s wrong,” Tester said Thursday of the president. “I look forward to working with President Trump. I’ve worked with him many times in the past, but we disagree.”

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Tester has repeatedly tried to emphasize points of agreement with Trump in his nascent reelection campaign, including sending Trump 13 of his bills to sign. But Trump and other Republicans are taking it personally that as ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Tester and his staff compiled interviews with more than two dozen current and former military members describing Jackson’s alleged wrongdoing and then released them this week.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Tester “painted a big target on himself” this fall in Montana, which Trump won by 20 points. And a Republican senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly about a colleague, said a “livid” Trump is now set to prioritize the campaign to knock off Tester this fall.

“Jon poked the bear. Did you see the bear today? The bear was mad,” the senator said. “If there was any doubt he was coming to Montana it was removed today. He overreached.”

The allegations, sourced anonymously, were the death knell of Jackson’s nomination.

“That was not Jon’s best time with regards to his Senate career,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). “Man, they aim low. They really aim low. And they brought him down.”

Democrats strongly reject that argument. They say Tester did the right thing by speaking up about a crucial post and that Trump and Republican are deflecting blame for the Jackson debacle.

“Sen. Tester released profoundly serious, credible allegations from military men and women who put their careers on the line,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “The administration bungled this nomination from the start. And then it fumbled the defense of its nominee. So the blame really lies with the administration.”

Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel also defended Tester from partisan attacks.

“I’ve always admired Jon Tester’s commitment to helping veterans — not using veterans for political purposes. Veterans know who their champions are, and Jon Tester is one of them,” said Hagel, who also served as a Republican senator from Nebraska.

Still, in interviews this week, Tester acknowledged it was “risky” for him to release the information about Jackson. The allegations could turn out to be false, he acknowledged, and take on a more partisan tinge by coming from the Democratic minority.

Tester felt compelled to move given the circumstances and received no criticism for doing so from Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) on Thursday. In fact, until about a week ago, Jackson’s nomination appeared to be going relatively smoothly, save for concerns about his lack of experience. But then Tester’s staff started getting calls. Lots of calls.

By Wednesday, 23 people had contacted the committee about Jackson’s history of misconduct, according to Democratic aides. Tester spoke to some of them, while his staff handled most of the work.

And as inquiries poured in from the press, Tester felt he had no choice but to go forward publicly. Each allegation in the two-page document, including that Jackson drunkenly crashed a government vehicle and wrote his own prescriptions, was verified by at least two sources, Democratic aides said. Two more people buttressing the claims contacted the committee after the summary was released.

“I don’t want to be in this situation. But the truth is. We got the information. It’s our obligation to follow up,” Tester said. “We did not initiate any of this. None of it. It was news to us.”

Tester gradually ramped up his role in challenging Jackson’s beleaguered nomination as the week wore on. After allegations about Jackson’s history dangled anonymously for two days, Tester confirmed them in an NPR interview on Tuesday night then did several cable news hits before releasing the two-page summary of Jackson’s alleged misconduct on Wednesday.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said Tester’s move “poisons the well” in a committee that generally operates outside partisan politics, but allies said Tester had no choice and that Republicans were disingenuously claiming they wouldn’t have done the same.

“Do you think if the shoe was on the other foot it would have been released? It would be irresponsible if it wasn’t. Military members came forward wanting to talk about the doctor,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

But Tester is under heavy attack from Trump, the White House and Republicans for the move. Trump said Thursday that Tester’s work “is going to cause him a lot of problems in his state.”

“I find it outrageous for a senator for political gain to take uncorroborated allegations that have not been investigated and to throw them out in a way to besmirch somebody’s character,” said Marc Short, Trump’s legislative director. “Very irresponsible to go on national TV and make those allegations knowing that that would besmirch that person’s character.”

The incident and its fallout underscores how the burly, plain-spoken Tester hasn’t exactly tacked to the center in an election year. Perhaps he feels emboldened after dodging a big-name opponent; after former Rep. Ryan Zinke was drafted into the Trump administration and the state attorney general passed on the race, Tester’s opposition is made up of lesser known opponents who will compete in a June primary.

And since Trump became president, Tester often votes in a different manner than his fellow red state incumbents, seemingly unworried about his state’s GOP lean. He was the lone red state Democrat to oppose Mike Pompeo to be secretary of state on Thursday and voted twice against a government funding bill in January.

But Tester has also positioned himself as someone who sends Trump bills to sign, including eight on veterans issues, and is open to working with the president. And he seems to genuinely believe that if he sticks to his guns and does not try to pander to conservative voters, the politics will work out this fall.

“It was going to be difficult anyway,” Tester said of his campaign. “Look, if I made decisions around here based on the election, I wouldn’t be a very good senator.”

Tester’s decision to aggressively take on Trump is rare among at-risk senators. Now, Tester is credited with helping bring down the confirmation prospects of a man whom Trump counts as a confidant, friend and personal doctor.

And Trump is plainly angry about it, to almost no one’s surprise.

“I can understand that, if [Trump] thinks it’s a personal attack. If you have a friend and someone personally attacks your friend, you’re going to have to fight back,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “But Jon is also going to have to do his job, too.”