Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who sits on the VA Committee, told The Hill this week that Jackson “doesn’t have the experience you’d think would traditionally be required at the VA.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (S.D.), another Republican on the committee, told The Hill that Jackson knows about health care, but “has very limited background in terms of managing groups.”

White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short pushed back against these criticisms telling me: “Ronny Jackson is a small town kid who went to medical school, volunteered to serve our nation in uniform, has risen all the way up to Admiral, treated wounded soldiers in combat, has a dad who’s a veteran and a son who’s a Navy SEAL, has personally served multiple presidents, and yet members of Congress who have never managed a thing outside of their own congressional office have the audacity to say he’s not qualified before he even has a hearing.”