Jackson weighing withdrawal: reports

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Trump’s embattled pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, is reportedly weighing whether to withdraw his name from consideration amid a series of allegations about his conduct.

According to multiple reports, Jackson, the White House physician, has grown frustrated with the confirmation process, which was going to be a rough ride even before allegations of questionable behavior came to light.

After a series of meetings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Jackson huddled with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley and deputy press secretary Raj Shah in Shah’s office.

When Jackson left the office, he told reporters that he was looking “forward to talking to you guys in the next few days,” according to CNN.

Sanders said they were meeting to “debrief” on Jackson’s rounds on Capitol Hill.

In recent days, allegations have emerged that Jackson drank on the job, overprescribed drugs and created a hostile work environment. 

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The latest round of accusations against Jackson surfaced on Wednesday, when the Democrats on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee released a two-page summary of interviews with nearly two dozen of his former and current colleagues.

That summary alleges, among other things, that Jackson got drunk at a Secret Service party and crashed a government vehicle. It also accuses the White House doctor of prescribing himself medications. 

Jackson told reporters on Wednesday that he “never wrecked a car,” and insisted that his embattled nomination for the top VA job was “moving ahead.”

While Trump said earlier this week that he would not blame Jackson if he wanted to remove his name from consideration, the White House has defended Jackson in the face of the allegations and has signaled that it will ultimately be up to the physician himself as to whether to continue with the confirmation process.