VA nominee engaged in ‘unprofessional behaviors’: watchdog
President Trump said Tuesday that Dr. Ronny Jackson, his embattled...
A 2012 watchdog report ordered by Dr. Ronny Jackson — President Trump’s pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs — said that he and a rival doctor engaged in “unprofessional behaviors” in a power struggle over the White House medical office.
The report, reviewed Tuesday by The Associated Press, suggested the White House consider replacing Jackson or Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman — or both.
Kuhlman was the physician to President Obama at the time.
The six-page report by the Navy’s Medical Inspector General found a lack of trust in the leadership and low morale among staff members, who described the working environment as “being caught between parents going through a bitter divorce.”
“There is a severe and pervasive lack of trust in the leadership that has deteriorated to the point that staff walk on ‘eggshells,'” the report found.
Trump suggested Tuesday that Jackson, his pick for VA secretary, might want to withdraw.
Jackson has been hurt by the emergence of allegations about inappropriate workplace behavior, including over-prescribing prescription drugs and drinking on the job.
The inspector general report reviewed by The AP includes no references to improper prescribing or the use of alcohol.
Trump said he would stand behind Jackson, calling the White House doctor “one of the finest people that I have met.”
But he questioned why Jackson would want to put up with the scrutiny, which he characterized as unfair.
With AP