Sen. Chris Coons said Wednesday that the confirmation process for President Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Veterans Affairs ought to proceed.
“The point of having confirmation hearings is to make sure that we have vetted someone who has been nominated to make sure they’re appropriate to run an agency and sometimes allegations like these do come out at the last minute about their behavior in their previous roles,” Mr. Coons, Delaware Democrat, said on CNN.
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson was nominated by Mr. Trump to take over at the VA, but his confirmation process was delayed after allegations of unprofessional conduct in his previous role as personal physician to the president.
“I had questions at the outset about whether he had the management experience,” Mr. Coons said when asked if he thought the accusations were part of a “smear campaign.”
Dr. Jackson has reportedly been accused of being drunk on the job and banging on a female employee’s door while drunk on an overseas trip. Mr. Coons said that the process ought to proceed as normal if Dr. Jackson chooses to proceed, however, saying that is all part of the vetting process.
“I think we ought to trust the folks who run the Veterans Affairs Committee,” Mr. Coons said.
The hearing was set to take place this week, but it was delayed due to the allegations.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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