Trump says he'll let Ronny Jackson decide whether to seek confirmation as VA secretary

President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that the confirmation process for his pick to be the next secretary of veterans affairs might not be worth the mounting scrutiny — but he said he would let Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the nominee, make the final decision about whether to stick with it.

“I really don't think, personally, he should do it,” Trump said.


Jackson, the White House physician, has become embroiled in controversy this week amid allegations that are reported to include workplace misconduct and over-prescribing medication. A confirmation hearing for Jackson scheduled for Wednesday in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has been postponed.

But Trump said Tuesday at a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that he would “always stand behind” Jackson, even as he suggested that the confirmation process might be more trouble than it’s worth for the Navy physician.

“I said to Dr. Jackson, ‘what do you need it for?’ So we'll see what happens,” Trump said. “I don't want to put a man through a process like this. It's too ugly and too disgusting. So we'll see what happens. He'll make a decision.”

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Trump nominated Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs after firing David Shulkin, the lone holdover from the Obama administration in his cabinet, last month. Like others in Trump’s cabinet, Shulkin had stirred controversy by allegedly misusing department resources for personal activities, and he also had policy disputes with others in the administration.

At his Tuesday press conference, the president complained that the scrutiny Jackson has already begun to face as part of the confirmation process is unfair for a man of his qualifications.

“I’d let it be his choice. But he's a man who has just been an extraordinary person. His family, extraordinary success, great doctor, great everything, and he has to listen to the abuse that he has to,” Trump said. “I wouldn't, if I were him — actually in many ways I'd love to be him — but the fact is, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't do it. What does he need it for?"

