Trump nominates his former physician for promotion despite Pentagon probe
President Trump has nominated former White House physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson to a new role as assistant to the president and chief medical adviser, the White House announced Saturday. Trump also proposed giving Jackson a second star.
This comes despite the Pentagon's ongoing investigation into Jackson's alleged workplace misconduct — including creating a hostile work environment and engaging in medical malpractice while drinking on the job — which last year resulted in Jackson withdrawing his nomination to be secretary of Veterans Affairs and stepping down from his White House post. Jackson has denied all allegations.
Trump's move to promote Jackson is also timed close to the president's annual physical, which is scheduled for Friday. Jackson conducted the physical in 2018, reporting Trump has "incredible genes" and is "in excellent health."
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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