{"id":40937,"date":"2018-07-06T13:14:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T13:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/06\/trump-suggests-previous-va-secretary-nominee-didnt-want-the-job\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:29:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:29:20","slug":"trump-suggests-previous-va-secretary-nominee-didnt-want-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/07\/06\/trump-suggests-previous-va-secretary-nominee-didnt-want-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump suggests previous VA secretary nominee didn\u2019t want the job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 During a rally in Montana Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested that his previous pick to run <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/06\/27\/va-secretary-nominee-promises-more-medical-choices-for-vets-but-not-privatization\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">the Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a> \u201cdidn\u2019t really want to do it,\u201d but would still have been an exemplary choice for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also accused the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee\u2019s ranking member, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/04\/25\/latest-allegations-against-va-nominee-jackson-drunken-driving-fake-prescriptions-abusive-leadership\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Jon Tester, D-Mont.,<\/a> of being the ringleader of a smear campaign against his pick, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/04\/26\/ronny-jackson-drops-bid-to-become-va-secretary-amid-allegations-of-drinking-mismanagement\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">former White House physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson,<\/a> during his month as the nominee for the Cabinet post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJon Tester showed his true colors with his shameful, dishonest attacks on a great man, a friend of mine,\u201d Trump told the crowd at the event in Great Falls, packed with cheering supporters. \u201cA man who I said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you run the VA, you\u2019d be great?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI put (Jackson) into the world of politics. How vicious is that world? But Jon Tester said things about him that were horrible and weren\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/26\/did-the-military-miss-major-problems-with-its-white-house-medical-officer\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18012779445824.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Did the military miss major problems with its White House medical officer?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Navy officials won&#039;t say whether they will investigate the doctor who withdrew his nomination for VA secretary.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson is currently under investigation by Navy officials for accusations of unprofessional behavior during his time at the White House Medical Unit that surfaced during his brief confirmation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the charges were reports made public by Tester in March that Jackson was allegedly careless with prescribing and handing out medication to White House staffers, bullied and insulted subordinates in the office, and abused alcohol during work hours, in one case crashing a government vehicle while intoxicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson\u2019s nomination had already raised concerns among veterans groups before those allegations because of his lack of experience with the VA system. When Republicans on the Senate veterans committee announced plans to delay his confirmation hearing amid the workplace accusations, he withdrew his name from consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson still works in the White House medical office but did not return to his post as the leader of that unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump repeatedly called him a \u201cgreat family man\u201d during the Montana event and appeared to claim that Jackson has been cleared of all the charges. Secret Service officials have disputed some of the accusations \u2014 in particular, they say they have no record of the the drunk driving incident \u2014 but Navy officials have not yet issued their investigation results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president also said he feels \u201cguilty\u201d for putting Jackson through the confirmation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI said, \u2018Doc, why don\u2019t you run the VA? You\u2019re a leader, you\u2019re an admiral, people admire you.\u2019 He\u2019s an admired guy or I wouldn\u2019t have done it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe said, \u2018Sir, whatever your order, I will do it \u2026 If you ask, I will do it.\u2019 But he didn\u2019t really want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Jackson nomination saga was just part of Trump\u2019s broad attack on Tester, who is up for re-election this fall. He is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate, since Trump carried the state by more than 20 percentage points in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president attacked Tester for his opposition on a host of policy priorities, including border security, the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and health care reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For its part, Tester\u2019s campaign in recent days took out several prominent statewide ads thanking the president for \u201csupporting Jon\u2019s legislation to help veterans and first responders, hold the VA accountable, and get rid of waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson was nominated to replace former VA Secretary David Shulkin, who was fired from the post by Trump via Twitter after weeks of infighting at the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jackson\u2019s replacement was Pentagon Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness Robert Wilkie, who had a confirmation hearing on June 27. Tester and other prominent members of the committee have already signaled their support for Wilkie to take over the post<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During a rally in Montana Thursday, President Trump accused Senate Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member, Jon Tester, D-Mont., of leading a smear campaign against his pick to run the Department of Veterans 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