{"id":28763,"date":"2024-03-07T18:23:55","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T18:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/03\/07\/lawmaker-who-claims-to-be-a-retired-rear-admiral-was-actually-demoted\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:57:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:57:45","slug":"lawmaker-who-claims-to-be-a-retired-rear-admiral-was-actually-demoted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2024\/03\/07\/lawmaker-who-claims-to-be-a-retired-rear-admiral-was-actually-demoted\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmaker who claims to be a retired rear admiral was actually demoted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A retired Navy medical officer who served for years as a top White House physician has touted himself as a retired rear admiral during his post-service political career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after he retired, <\/b>Rep. Ronny Lynn Jackson, R-Texas, was bumped down to the rank of captain, or O-6, nearly two years ago, according to service records and a defense official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson retired from the Navy in December 2019 and was elected to represent Texas\u2019 13th Congressional District in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy said in a statement Thursday that the service \u201ctook administrative action in July 2022\u2033 following substantiated allegations in a Defense Department Inspector General investigation that delved into Jackson\u2019s conduct while leading the White House Medical Unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That administrative action involved Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro changing Jackson\u2019s \u201cretirement grade determination\u201d and reducing his rank to O-6, a defense official granted anonymity to discuss personnel matters told Navy Times Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson\u2019s official service record now lists him as a retired captain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Navy records show U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, is a retired Navy captain, not a retired rear admiral, as his congressional website claims. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post<\/a> first reported discrepancies in Jackson\u2019s official retirement rank and the rank which he claims to hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials with Jackson\u2019s office did not immediately provide comment, but as of Thursday afternoon, the retired captain\u2019s official site still touted him being a retired flag officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral with nearly three decades of military service I understand the commitment and sacrifices made by servicemen and servicewomen to serve our country,\u201d the two-term lawmaker\u2019s congressional website states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson’s congressional site states that he is a retired Navy rear admiral. But records show he was retroactively demoted to captain in 2022 and is retired as an O-6. (Screenshot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The move to change Jackson\u2019s retirement rank in 2022 followed the findings of a Pentagon IG report that was released to the public in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report<\/a>, spurred by a dozen IG hotline complaints in spring 2018 after President Donald Trump nominated him to be Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, found that Jackson, who had also served in the Barack Obama and George W. Bush administrations, presided over a toxic command climate at the White House Medical Unit <\/a>and drank alcohol while on duty during official, international travel, but not that he ever damaged government property in doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson declined to respond to the IG\u2019s findings before it finalized its report. Its recommendations called for the Navy secretary to take \u201cappropriate action\u201d against Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe concluded that [Rear Adm.] Jackson\u2019s overall course of conduct toward subordinates disparaged, belittled, bullied, and humiliated them, and fostered a negative work environment by failing to treat subordinates with dignity and respect,\u201d according to a Pentagon IG statement at the time of the report\u2019s release. \u201cWe also concluded that [Rear Adm.] Jackson failed to conduct himself in an exemplary manner in his treatment of subordinates throughout his tenure at WHMU. His treatment of subordinates created a negative work environment that witnesses said made an unfavorable impact on the overall command climate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n