NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Veterans Affairs department withdrew his candidacy Thursday morning, following the release of allegations that he wrecked a government vehicle while drunk and freely gave out prescription drugs without paperwork. Dr. Ronny Jackson, who is Mr. Trump’s White House physician, took himself out of the running after Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee released a summary of allegations they had compiled through interviews with about two dozen people who have worked with him…The two-page report that contributed to Dr. Jackson’s withdrawal described a culture of lax controls over drug prescription. Once, the report said, a prescription for a sleeping aid was written for a provider instead of for the actual patient to protect the patient’s identity. The report also said Dr. Jackson got drunk at a Secret Service going-away party and wrecked a government vehicle. Dr. Jackson’s rapid rise and fall exposed what some critics see as inadequate vetting of high-level Trump administration officials. Some lawmakers were already skeptical about him, believing that he lacked the management experience needed to run a department that is the second-largest in the federal government, next to the Pentagon.”
– Peter Nicholas, “Ronny Jackson Withdraws as Veterans Affairs Nominee,” The Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2018 9:17 am