NOMINATIONS/VA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump acknowledged Tuesday [4-24-18] that Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, his nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, is in serious trouble amid accusations that as the White House doctor he oversaw a hostile work environment, improperly dispensed prescription drugs and possibly drank on the job. Speaking at a midday news conference with the president of France, Mr. Trump strongly defended Dr. Jackson, the White House physician, as ‘one of the finest people that I have met,’ but he hinted that Dr. Jackson might soon withdraw from consideration, blaming Democrats for mounting an unfair attack on his nominee’s record…By Tuesday evening, however, Mr. Trump and Dr. Jackson met face-to-face, and the White House moved aggressively to defend the doctor against what the president had called ‘ugly’ abuse by politicians. A White House statement said that Dr. Jackson’s record was ‘impeccable’ and insisted that he would not be ‘railroaded’ by false accusations.”
-Nicholas Fandos and Michael D. Shear, “After Trump Hints V.A. Nominee Might Drop Out, an Aggressive Show of Support,” The New York Times online, April 24, 2018