WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he was nudging aside Dr. Ronny Jackson, his nominee to head the Veterans Affairs Department, after senators canceled his nomination hearing to investigate allegations of inappropriate behavior.
"I told Admiral Jackson just a little while ago ... I said, 'What do you need this for?'" Trump said during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron,
The decision on whether to continue was up to Jackson, the chief White House physician, Trump said. But, he added, "If I were him, the fact is, I wouldn't do it."
Trump blamed Democrats for what loomed as a tortuous nomination process, calling the opposition to Jackson "vicious" and praising his nominee as "one of the finest people I have met."
Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, however, suggested they were exasperated by what appeared to be a low level of White House vetting of Jackson.
"If it is true, it's a vetting mess," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said, referring to the allegations against the nominee.
"Basically, the administration has to get its act together on nominations," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
According to several news reports, senators are examining accusations that Jackson has overseen a hostile work environment, as well as allegations of drinking and overprescribing drugs. Several senators said Tuesday that the reports, which came from multiple people who had worked with Jackson, had not yet been corroborated.
The Veterans' Affairs Committee had been scheduled to take up Jackson's nomination Wednesday, but that hearing has been postponed. Senators said the earliest it could be considered was in two weeks, following a Senate break next week.
