Rep. Ronny Jackson says the Navy has given him back his retired rank of rear admiral, undoing a 2022 demotion that came after an investigation into his behavior as the top White House doctor.
On Wednesday, the Texas Republican shared a June 13 letter from Navy Secretary John Phelan. The letter said Phelan had restored Jackson to the rank of a one-star admiral after reviewing “all applicable reports and references.” A Navy spokesperson confirmed the decision, adding that Phelan “greatly appreciates Congressman Jackson’s decades of distinguished naval service.”
The restoration comes at a time when the Pentagon has been showing more openness in rewarding those seen as loyal to President Donald Trump. Critics have noted that officials who appear unsupportive of Trump have been removed from key positions. Just two weeks ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who led the intelligence agency that produced an early report on U.S. damage to Iranian nuclear sites — a report that angered Trump.
Jackson retired from the Navy in 2019 but was later demoted after a long investigation into his time serving as physician to Trump and former President Barack Obama.
The inspector general’s report accused him of making “sexual and denigrating” remarks toward a female staffer, drinking alcohol on a presidential trip in violation of rules, and using strong prescription sleep medication that raised concerns about his ability to provide safe medical care.
Jackson first drew public attention for his glowing statements about Trump’s health during Trump’s first term. He was elected to Congress in 2020 after Trump’s attempt to nominate him as Veterans Affairs secretary in 2018 failed.
“I was, and still am, a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, and Joe Biden is a retired old FOOL,” Jackson wrote this week on social media. Even after his demotion, he continued to call himself an admiral online.
In a separate decision last week, military officials announced that Ashli Babbitt — the rioter killed by police during the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — would receive military funeral honors.
Babbitt, an Air Force veteran from California, was shot while trying to climb through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby, as rioters disrupted the certification of Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. She was wearing a Trump campaign flag draped around her shoulders at the time.
