Trump Nominates White House Doctor Ronny Jackson For 2nd Star, Despite Ongoing Investigation

By Jeff Schogol | February 01, 2019 at 04:52 PM

Remember Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson? He was President Donald Trump's doctor who said the president had "great genes" and was later nominated to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, although he withdrew his nomination in April 2018 over allegations that he overprescribed certain drugs and created a hostile working environment.

Well, he's up for his second star while still being investigated by the Defense Department Inspector General's Office, officials said on Friday.

"In accordance with Article II Section 2 of the constitution, Rear Adm. Jackson was appointed by the Office of the President to his current rank of Rear Admiral (lower half/1-star) on Oct. 1, 2016," a Navy official told Task & Purpose on condition of anonymity.

"Although promotion boards are typically used to recommend officers for presidential appointment to the grade of rear admiral, the Constitution does not require that a board be used. In this case, the president made the appointment to rear admiral (lower half) without the use of a promotion board recommendation. The White House nominated him for rear admiral upper half (2-star) and re-submitted the nomination to the 116th Congress in Jan. 2019."

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