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Why Trump’s VA Pick Got Torpedoed

Author Lawrence J. Korb discusses the allegations against Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who was forced to withdraw from consideration to be the next secretary of the Veterans Administration.

At about the same time that Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the now former White House physician and former combat medic in Iraq, was forced to withdraw from consideration to be the next secretary of the Veterans Administration, CIA Director Mike Pompeo was confirmed as the second Secretary of State in the Trump administration by a vote of fifty-seven to forty-two. There is no doubt that neither was qualified for these positions. However, Admiral Jackson was not forced to withdraw because of his lack of management experience to run an agency with nearly 370,000 employees and a budget of nearly $200 billion. He was forced to withdraw because of allegations against his personal and professional behavior, which were supposedly unknown to his superiors in the White House. If true, those allegations render Admiral Jackson inappropriate not only for a future cabinet officer but a current naval officer.

The above excerpt was originally published in The National Interest. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Lawrence J. Korb

Senior Fellow

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