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In a report completed three years ago, the Pentagon found that Maj. Gen. Ronnie L. Jackson abused subordinates while serving as White House physician, drinking alcohol and taking sleeping pills while on duty. revealed. The report recommended that he face disciplinary action.
Well, it turns out that the Navy secretly punished him the following year. He retired from the military in 2019 and was demoted to captain, something he has not publicly acknowledged.
Mr. Jackson, now a Republican from Texas and an outspoken ally of former President Donald J. Trump who oversaw the president’s care in the White House, still describes himself on the Congressional website as a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral. ing.
Jackson was demoted from major general to colonel in the summer of 2022, according to former defense and current military officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Mr. Jackson could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Stanley Woodward, declined to comment.
Navy officials said in a statement Thursday only that the Navy took administrative action against him as a result of the investigation. Officials did not say what those actions were.
The Navy said in a statement Thursday that the results of an internal investigation into Jackson “do not meet the standards the Navy requires of its leaders.” “As a result, the Secretary of the Navy took administrative action in July 2022.”
Even after leaving the military, this type of demotion is a significant blow to military personnel, especially one who was appointed as a physician by both Mr. Trump and President Barack Obama.
Jackson’s demotion was first reported by the Washington Post.
The demotion will reduce his annual retirement benefits by about 13 percent, according to the military’s pay scale.
Mr. Jackson is an ardent supporter of Mr. Trump. When the former president was indicted in New York last year for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star, Mr. Jackson lashed out at Democrats on social media.
“These despicable Democrats hate Trump and hate his voters even more,” he wrote. “If Trump wins, these people are going to pay!!”
In his 2022 memoir, “Holding the Line,” Jackson described himself as a “Trump guy” and said he stood by the president after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In early 2018, while serving as White House physician, he issued a public assessment that the then-71-year-old Trump was in good health, but provided no supporting details such as his cholesterol levels or blood pressure. There wasn’t.
About two months later, Trump nominated Jackson to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. But Jackson backed off after reports began to emerge about misconduct within the White House, including sloppy record-keeping and bullying of staff. After Jackson left the White House and the Navy, Trump endorsed him for Congress in 2020.
Mr. Jackson argued that the Pentagon’s internal investigation into him was a political gig. He said in his memoir that his findings were shared the day after President Biden took office.
“If I had not retired and entered politics, this investigation would never have moved forward,” he wrote. “We’ll have to wait to see how this plays out.”
His book was released on July 26, 2022. Even if he knew of the demotion at the time, he did not mention it in his memoirs.
Alan Feuer I contributed a report from New York.
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