The White House Doctor and the Dual-Officeholding Ban
Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson’s appointment reinvigorates the debate over the proper relationship between the military and the government.
President Trump’s on Wednesday that he is nominating his White House physician—Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson—to replace David Shulkin as secretary of veterans affairs has reinvigorated a long-running debate over the proper relationship between the military and the senior echelons of the civil government. Indeed, few modern presidents have surrounded themselves with as many current and former flag officers—including retired General James Mattis as secretary of defense; John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, as secretary of homeland security and then White House chief of staff; and H.R. McMaster—a three-star Army general—as the outgoing national-security adviser (who himself succeeded retired
