WASHINGTON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs said on Tuesday it has delayed indefinitely a confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's pick Ronny Jackson for next Veterans Affairs Secretary since lawmakers need more time to vet the White House doctor's controversial record.
The decision comes "in light of new information presented to the committee," said Senators Johnny Isakson of Georgia, the committee chairman, and Jon Tester of Montana, its ranking Democrat, in a joint statement.
"We will continue looking into these serious allegations and have requested additional information from the White House to enable the committee to conduct a full review." both senators said.
The committee did not announce a new date for the hearing.
Jackson, who was nominated by Trump to head the Veterans Affairs Department last month, has served as a White House physician since 2006 and was selected by then President Barack Obama to be the chief doctor in the White House medical unit in 2013. Trump kept him on the job since taking office in January, 2017.
Local media reported last week that Jackson allegedly oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House physician and allowed the overprescribing of drugs, citing congressional officials briefed on the committee's work.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has more than 300,000 employees and 1,200 medical facilities across the country.
