Ronny Jackson

Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy rear admiral, retroactively retired in the grade of captain.

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 Doctor of Medicine degree in 1995.

Jackson became a Navy officer after graduating from medical school in 1995.

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 Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

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.

In 2001, he started a residency in emergency medicine, which he completed in 2004.

He was a clinical faculty physician in the Emergency Medical Residency Program at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth 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.

Jackson held the Navy rank of captain from May 1, 2010, to October 1, 2016, when he was promoted to rear admiral (lower half).

He is the U.S. representative for TX's 13th congressional district.

On December 9, he filed to run for Congress in Texas's 13th congressional district.

In December 2014, Jackson's duties as WHMU director ended, but he continued to be Physician to the President.

After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, he kept Jackson on as Physician to the President.

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.

In January 2017, Jackson made headlines after treating a girl who was bitten by Sunny, one of the Obamas' dogs.

In March 2018, Trump nominated Jackson to be United States secretary of veterans affairs to succeed David Shulkin, but Jackson withdrew the following month amid allegations of misconduct and mismanagement during his service in the White House.

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.

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.

Others noted the allegations about Jackson's conduct, which the administration disputed.

On April 23, 2018, the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs postponed a hearing on Jackson's nomination after current and former White House medical staff accused him of creating a hostile work environment, excessive drinking on the job, and dispensing medication improperly.

Senator Jon Tester told CNN on April 24 that Jackson was known as "the candy man" at the White House, according to around 20 people who brought these concerns to the Veterans' Affairs Senate Committee, because he allegedly handed out Ambien, Provigil, and other prescription drugs "like they were candy".

At a press conference, Trump called Jackson "one of the finest people that I have met", hinted that Jackson might drop out, and accusing Democrats of mounting an unfair attack on his record.

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 as a rear admiral (lower half) on December 1, 2019.

Trump appointed Jackson "Assistant to the President and Chief Medical Advisor" on February 2, 2019.

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).

In July 2022, the Navy demoted Jackson from rear admiral (lower half) to captain for actions "not in keeping with the standards the Navy requires of its leaders", citing "substantiated allegations" in a 2018 investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general into reports that the physician had drunk alcohol while on duty, acted inappropriately, and routinely yelled at subordinates.

Despite the demotion, Jackson continued to represent himself as an admiral on his congressional website through at least March 2024, when the story was first uncovered by The Washington Post.

After placing second in the Republican primary, he won a runoff for the nomination and the November 3, 2020, general election.

In 2021, an investigation by the Defense Department inspector general found that Jackson had engaged in various inappropriate behaviors as an admiral; the following year, the Navy retroactively demoted him to the rank of captain.

Jackson was born to Waymon and Norma Jackson and raised in Levelland, Texas.

As a child, he was interested in aquatic activities, including swimming and jet skiing.

He has two siblings, Gary and Stacy Jackson, who are both employed in Levelland's Covenant Hospital.