A Republican congressman misstated his military rank — in a letter that attacked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for doing exactly that.
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) was one of a number of signatories to a letter that took issue with Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to himself at one point as a "retired Command Sergeant Major."
Walz did hold this rank near the end of his 24 years of service in the Army National Guard, but for procedural reasons he did not retain the rank when he retired — a technicality that his counterpart on the Trump ticket, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, has blasted him for.
But there's an issue with Jackson's presence on the letter — he identified himself by a rank he doesn't hold either.
According to senior Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake, Jackson was identified on the letter as "Ronny Jackson, U.S. Representative (TX-13); Rear Admiral - U.S. Navy (Ret.)"
Jackson had attained the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. However, in March of this year, the Navy demoted him following the release of an inspector general report detailing his misconduct while he served as White House physician to former President Donald Trump. He is no longer technically a retired admiral.
The misconduct in question stems from reports that Jackson drank and took drugs while on duty, and created a hostile work environment for his staff.
ALSO READ: ‘Stop the Steal’ organizer hired by Trump campaign for Election 2024 endgame
Some of these allegations came to light in 2018 in reporting by then-ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Jon Tester (D-MT) when Jackson was under consideration for a cabinet position in the Trump administration. The reports suggested that Jackson not only used substances himself while on duty, but handed them out to other people in the White House "like candy."
Jackson, who was elected to the Texas congressional district representing Amarillo and Wichita Falls in 2020, denies the allegations.
