President Trump has appointed failed Veterans Affairs secretary nominee Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson to serve as assistant to the president and chief medical adviser, according to the White House.
Trump tapped 40 staffers for promotions and new jobs Saturday, including Jackson, whose name was in the middle of the long list.
Jackson has remained out of the spotlight since last spring. Trump had picked the then-White House doctor to take over the VA, but shortly after doing so, Jackson was accused of drinking on the job and inappropriately giving out prescription-strength medicine.
He withdrew from the nomination in late April and denied all allegations.
“The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated. If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years,” Jackson said at the time.
Last June, the Pentagon opened an investigation into Jackson because the allegations were about his time working in the Pentagon.
Trump nominated then-Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Robert Wilkie to head the VA last May.