Ronny Jackson is out.
White House physician Ronny Jackson will not return to his role as the president’s personal physician, according to two senior administration officials, after a string of allegations caused the Navy rear admiral to withdraw his nomination last week to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sean Conley, a Navy officer who took over Jackson’s role as the president’s personal doctor last month, will continue in the role, the officials said.
Jackson was nominated to head the Department of Veterans Affairs based entirely, it appears, on Donald Trump’s personal interactions with the man as White House physician. During the nomination process, multiple allegations of professional misconduct began to surface, including accusations of drinking while on duty, excessive opioid prescriptions, and rampant personnel problems. While Jackson and his allies denied each, he withdraw from consideration after it became clear he would garner no more than tepid support from Republican senators, and after Trump himself publicly mused that he “personally” would withdraw from nomination if he were in Jackson’s shoes.
Given the accusations against him, it was unclear whether Jackson would return to the White House; now we have our answer.