Trump administration vetting shows holes in the screening
Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson walks on Capitol Hill following a meeting in the office of Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in Washington on Tuesday. Credit: EPA / Michael Reynolds
President Donald Trump propagated the term “extreme vetting.”
But his immigration policies and hiring practices are beginning to show how far the walk can stray from the talk.
As a candidate, Trump vowed a more careful examination than before of who would be allowed into the U.S. Once elected, he ordered what were billed as interim curbs on travel from several mostly Muslim nations.
His directives drew court challenges. After more than a year of controversy, the Supreme Court is due Wednesday to hear arguments on the matter.
In February Trump ordered up the creation of a “national vetting center” for immigration. But he and his aides have yet to explain exactly what the center would do that isn’t already done. Nor have they said if the new creation removes a need for the travel ban.
So for the time being, “extreme vetting” may just as well describe a thrill sport like blood-soaked wrestling as anything the government is doing.
And when it comes to bringing people into his administration, even minimial-to-moderate vetting — for ethical and frugal conduct — seems to get short shrift.
With his nomination to run veterans affairs before the Senate, Dr. Ronny Jackson faces charges he presided over a hostile work environment as White House physician, allowed over-prescription of drugs and drank too much.
These sound like concerns even the slightest background investigation might have turned up. Their emergence suggests Trump simply liked Jackson’s televised performance hailing the president’s physical condition and then selected him.
Remember, the previous veterans affairs secretary, David Shulkin, who’d served in the Obama administration, was pushed out after fighting with Trump appointees.
On one side, the agency’s inspector general reported negatively on Shulkin’s overseas travel. On the other, Shulkin said he was being prodded to privatize veteran health care to replace government-run V.A. services.
A confirmation hearing for Jackson scheduled for this week has been postponed.
This comes as Scott Pruitt, the EPA administrator, faces questions about his financial relationship with a top lobbyist from Oklahoma, where he was attorney general, and about his leasing a Washington condo owned by another lobbyist’s wife.
The potential conflicts are “something that we’re monitoring and looking at and I’ll keep you posted,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday.
Extravagant spending on perks such as furniture and trips have already dented the reputations of Housing Secretary Ben Carson, Interior Secretary Robert Zinke and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Tom Price was forced out as head of health and human services after spending more than $1 million in tax money on military and private jets. Former economic adviser Carl Icahn and current Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had questions raised about their mix of investments and public roles.
In more ways than one, vetting does not seem to be this president’s strong suit.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
