Frustrated by a prolonged leadership vacuum at the nation’s second-largest Cabinet agency, veterans service organizations are now urging the White House to select an unquestionably qualified candidate for Veterans Affairs secretary, after President Trump’s initial pick for the position withdrew his nomination on Thursday.

The fall of White House physician Ronny Jackson, a Navy doctor and rear admiral nominated in late March to replace ousted VA Secretary David Shulkin, has left the White House scrambling to find an upstanding nominee with requisite leadership experience and a well-documented history of ethical behavior. Both attributes became an issue for Jackson in the days leading up to his Senate confirmation hearing, after more than a dozen military officials privately told Senate investigators he had repeatedly engaged in excessive drinking and recklessly distributed prescription drugs.