Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, USNI News reported Wednesday.
Trump announced Jackson’s nomination in a tweet Wednesday and that Robert Wilkie, defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness, will serve as interim secretary.
Jackson, who will succeed the departing VA Secretary David Shulkin once confirmed, has been with the Navy since 1995.
He previously served as clinical faculty at a naval hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, and as an emergency medicine physician in Iraq.
He was appointed to serve as a White House physician in 2006 and since then, he has led the executive health care of the president’s senior staff and cabinet and served as medical unit director.
Jackson is a fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and a recipient of various awards such as the Defense Superior Service Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Legion of Merit.
