UPDATE (8:05 a.m.): Ronny Jackson is withdrawing his nomination, Fox News reports.
If Ronny Jackson decides to withdraw from consideration as secretary of Veterans Affairs, as the Washington Post reported Wednesday evening he was considering, Republicans on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue will breathe a sigh of relief. The allegations of Jackson’s misconduct on the job as White House physician have continued to stack up to a staggering degree—from over-prescribing pills and creating a hostile work environment to drinking excessively and even drunkenly “wrecking a government vehicle.” That’s all according to a report compiled by Senate Democrats on the Veterans Affairs committee.
Despite Jackson’s denials of many of the allegations, some Senate Republicans have started saying President Trump should withdraw the nomination. But why haven’t senators started publicly calling for Jackson to step aside? One Republican on Capitol Hill told me there’s little incentive for senators to try torpedoing a nominee who is already taking on water at a rapid pace. The White House, this Republican said, seemed to be disinclined to go to the mat for Jackson.
In public, however, White House aides were giving perfunctory defenses of their nominee on Wednesday. On Twitter, deputy press secretary Raj Shah pointed to a former Obama White House official who said he could not corroborate some of the allegations against Jackson. “Dr. Jackson’s record as a White House physician has been impeccable,” said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Behind the scenes, officials—including Vice President Mike Pence—remained supportive of the nomination.
The reason for all the caution? Trump himself. The big question is whether Jackson’s mounting problem becomes too much for even “double down Donald” to stomach. The president is reportedly “beginning to wonder aloud whether his embattled Veterans Affairs nominee should step aside ‘before things get worse.’” Washington Republicans will take their cues on Jackson accordingly.
Quote of the Day— “He has received more vetting than most nominees.” —Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary, on Ronny Jackson, April 25, 2018
By the way, a current member of Trump’s Cabinet has his own day of reckoning on Capitol Hill Thursday. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt will appear at a House hearing and is expected to get tough questions about the numerous allegations he has abused his office for personal reasons. There’s reason to think the president may be tuning in to listen to some of Pruitt’s testimony live—the only public event listed on his calendar is a speech to wounded warriors visiting the White House, at 10:30 a.m.
Trump TV—The president will be returning Thursday to the morning show that started it all:
I will be interviewed on @foxandfriends at 8:00 A.M. Enjoy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2018
In his Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress, French president Emmanuel Macron cast the American involvement in the broader military conflict in Syria—an operation President Trump wants to end sooner rather than later—as an ongoing battle between the western Democratic world and the forces of terror.
“In recent years, our nations have suffered wrenching losses simply because of our values and our taste for freedom—because these values are the very ones those terrorists precisely hate,” Macron said. “It is a horrific price to pay for freedom, for democracy. That is why we stand together in Syria and in Sahel today, to fight together against these terrorist groups who seek to destroy everything for which we stand.”
Trump Tweets of the Day
Thank you Kanye, very cool! https://t.co/vRIC87M21X
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018
MAGA! https://t.co/jFf5ONASlv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018
North Korea Watch—White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said again Wednesday that the North Korea has been “open in their willingness to denuclearize,” one day after President Trump said Korean denuclearization “means they get rid of their nukes.”
“We think the maximum pressure campaign is working, but we’re not going to let up on that campaign until we’ve seen some of the words they’ve made go into concrete action,” Sanders said. “But they’re moving in the right direction.”
The White House may have discussed denuclearization with North Korea behind the scenes, but Kim Jong-un has not yet publicly indicated a willingness to denuclearize in either actions or words.
Suicide Watch—My colleague Adam Keiper has a review of Jonah Goldberg’s big new book, Suicide of the West, in the upcoming issue of the magazine, available online now. Here’s an excerpt:
One More Thing—Goldberg, by the way, will be a guest at this year’s Weekly Standard Summit in Colorado Springs, where he will talk about Suicide of the West and other politics of the day.
There are still a few rooms available for the event, May 17-20, so sign up here if you’re interested in seeing Goldberg and our other guests—Bret Baier, A.B. Stoddard, Senator Tim Scott, Congressman Trey Gowdy, and White House adviser Michael Anton—join me and several of my WEEKLY STANDARD colleagues for panel discussions about politics at the beautiful Broadmoor Resort.
Song of the Day—“Good Morning” by Kanye West
