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Article snippet: Senate Republicans are hoping that MORE’s pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) withdraws his name and spares them a messy confirmation fight. While some GOP lawmakers are characterizing the allegations of improper conduct against Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson as “cheap shots,” they have serious concerns about his lack of management experience. The lawmaker expressed hope that Jackson would pull out, or that a few GOP colleagues would publicly announce their opposition, making it clear the nominee can’t win a confirmation vote. Republican senators say they aren’t eager to spill blood defending a nominee against a barrage of allegations of unprofessional conduct when they already have serious questions about his ability to manage a vast and complicated federal bureaucracy. The Department of Veterans Affairs has 360,000 employees and a $186 billion budget. Poor treatment of military veterans has been a potent issue in past campaigns, and one that Trump talked about extensively during his run for the presidency in 2016. GOP lawmakers are concerned that brushing aside complaints from nearly two dozen current and former colleagues of Jackson’s could come back to bite them, especially if performance at Veterans Affairs fails to improve. So far, most Republican lawmakers are waiting to see what their colleagues on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee conclude about Jackson’s fitness before passing their own judgment on the nominee. But the early sign... Link to the full article to read more