Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and retired United States Navy rear admiral who is the U.S. representative for .
Jackson joined the White House Medical Unit in the mid-2000s under George W. Bush, and served as Physician to the President from 2013 to 2018 under Barack Obama and Donald Trump. On March 28, 2018, Trump nominated Jackson to be United States secretary of veterans affairs to succeed David Shulkin. On April 23, 2018, allegations of misconduct and mismanagement during his service in the White House were reported. The administration disputed the allegations. Concern was also expressed about Jackson's lack of management experience. On April 26, 2018, Jackson withdrew his nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
On February 2, 2019, Trump appointed Jackson Assistant to the President and Chief Medical Advisor, a new position in the Executive Office. Jackson retired from the Navy on December 1, 2019, and on December 9, he filed to run for Congress in Texas's 13th congressional district. Placing second in the Republican primary, he won a runoff for the nomination and the November 3, 2020, general election.
Early life and education
Jackson was born to Waymon and Norma Jackson and raised in Levelland, Texas. He has a brother and a sister who live and work in Levelland. He attended Texas A&M University at Galveston, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology. He attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch, receiving his MD degree in 1995.
Military career
Jackson became a Navy officer in 1995, when he received his M.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch. He graduated from the Undersea Medical Officer Program in 1996. Jackson had a series of operational postings, as officer-in-charge and diving medical officer at Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 at the naval base in Sigonella, Sicily and diving safety officer at the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Virginia. In 2001, he started a residency in emergency medicine, which he completed in 2004. He was clinical faculty physician in the Emergency Medical Residency Program in Portsmouth, Virginia for an additional year before being deployed to Iraq in 2005, where he worked as emergency medicine physician with a surgical shock trauma platoon in Taqaddum.
In June 2006, Jackson became a physician in the White House Medical Unit (WHMU), ultimately working under three presidents. He became WHMU director in May 2010, and in July 2013 was given the additional title of Physician to the President. In December 2014, Jackson's duties as WHMU director ended, but he continued to be Physician to the President. In January 2017, Jackson made headlines after treating a girl who was bitten by Sunny, one of the Obamas' dogs.
Jackson continued to be Physician to the President during the Donald Trump administration. Upon taking office, Trump gave Jackson the additional title of Deputy Assistant to the President. Jackson became close to Trump after delivering an hourlong press conference in which he gave a glowing assessment of Trump's health, praising Trump's "incredibly good genes" and his performance on a cognitive test ("exceedingly well") and claiming that "if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old." Jackson was criticized for the statements and accused of misstating Trump's height and weight in order to minimize his obesity. Trump appointed Jackson "Assistant to the President and Chief Medical Advisor" on February 2, 2019.
Jackson held the Navy rank of captain from May 1, 2010, to October 1, 2016, until he was promoted to rear admiral (lower half). Jackson was nominated for promotion to the two-star rank of rear admiral on March 20, 2018, but the Senate Committee on Armed Services returned the nomination to the president on January 3, 2019, without action. He was renominated by Trump for promotion again on January 15, 2019, but it was again returned to the president without action. Jackson retired from the Navy on December 1, 2019, as a rear admiral (lower half).
Nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs
On March 28, 2018, Trump announced that he planned to nominate Jackson to succeed David Shulkin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Some senators expressed skepticism of the nomination due to Jackson's lack of management experience.