Updated at 6:15 p.m.
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson was found to have been “repeatedly drunk” while on duty as White House physician, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said during an on-the-record interview Tuesday.
Jackson, who is President Trump’s nominee to head the Veterans Affairs Department, is under fire after allegations surfaced about him drinking while on the job and improperly handing out medication. The Senate Veterans Affairs panel on Tuesday postponed his confirmation hearing indefinitely.
Speaking to NPR, Tester, the ranking member on the panel, said more than 20 people have come forward to express their concerns about Jackson.
“It was on travel, and he is the physician for the president, and in the previous administration we were told stories where he was repeatedly drunk while on duty where his main job was to take care of the most powerful man in the world, that’s not acceptable,” Tester said, as quoted by journalists who tuned into the interview on Twitter.
Other charges Tester confirmed include prescribing prescription drugs and creating a hostile workplace.
With his future as VA nominee in doubt, Jackson met with Trump at the White House Friday afternoon, but Jackson is said to not be withdrawing his nomination, CNN reported.
