During his time as the top White House physician, now-Rep. Ronny Jackson drank on the job and made inappropriate comments to staffers, according to a new inspector general report.
Jackson, who accused Democrats of pushing “untrue attacks on my integrity,” was found to have made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, drank alcohol while on a presidential trip, and used prescription-strength sleep medication, according to the Department of Defense inspector general.
The investigation began in 2018 and examined his time serving as the top physician in both the Obama and Trump administrations.
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Jackson, who currently represents Texas’s 13th Congressional District, accused the inspector general of having “resurrected” old allegations against him because he would not “turn my back on President Trump.” He denied “any allegation that I consumed alcohol on duty.” He was also accused of taking Ambien while on duty.
“My entire professional life has been defined by duty and service,” he said. “I’ve honorably served my country in the U.S. Navy, served patients who trusted me with their care, served three presidents in the White House, and now I serve the people of Texas’s 13th District in Congress. I have not and will not ever conduct myself in a way that undermines the sincerity with which I take my oath to my country or my constituents.”
The investigators interviewed 78 witnesses, reviewed old White House documents, and concluded that he treated his subordinates poorly and engaged in inappropriate conduct, which led others to question his capability to provide medical care to top officials.
The report said that “an overwhelming majority of witnesses (56) … who worked with RDML Jackson from 2012 through 2018 told us they personally experienced, saw, or heard about him yelling, screaming, cursing, or belittling subordinates,” adding, “Many of these witnesses described RDML Jackson’s behavior with words and phrases such as ‘meltdowns,’ ‘yells for no reason,’ ‘rages,’ ‘tantrums,’ ‘lashes out,’ and ‘aggressive.’ These witnesses also described RDML Jackson’s leadership style with terms such as ‘tyrant,’ ‘dictator,’ ‘control freak,’ ‘hallmarks of fear and intimidation,’ ‘crappy manager,’ and ‘not a leader at all.'”
Other witnesses alleged Jackson was drunk during a presidential trip to Manila in April 2014 and that he made inappropriate comments about a female subordinate at the time.
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“Witness 1, a medical subordinate, told us that during the Asia trip, before arriving in Manila, RDML Jackson told him a female medical subordinate (Manila Witness 2), who was also on the trip, had ‘great t–s,’ and ‘what a nice a–,’ and that RDML Jackson also told Manila Witness 1 that he would ‘like to see more of her tattoos,'” the report states.
Jackson was Trump’s nominee for secretary of veterans affairs but withdrew from consideration after allegations that he was “abusive” toward colleagues, drank, and was loose with prescription pain medications surfaced.
