“Mr. Tester said that there was no evidence before the committee that Dr. Jackson had shown up drunk to the White House.” - The New York Times, April 24, 2018

One can’t help idly wondering if the president’s defense of Dr. Ronny Jackson in the face of credible allegations around his sobriety and prescription ethics isn’t tied to Jackson’s previous endorsement of the president’s miraculous state of health. If it turns out he’s a wild card, then that’s sure to raise questions about the president’s exam earlier in the year.

This nomination is also a perfect study of the collision between standard GOP contempt for government and competence, and a department with a life-and-death, moral obligation to provide health services to American veterans. Trump’s preference for personal loyalty and connections over experience has supercharged this collision in the manner of one of those miles-long supercolliders tucked beneath the Swiss Alps. Trump fumbles; Americans suffer.