The White House physician, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, dropped his bid Thursday to head the country's Veterans Affairs agency as lawmakers probed allegations of professional misconduct and excessive drinking.
As he withdrew, Jackson described the attacks on him as false allegations, but said they had become a distraction to President Donald Trump's effort to improve health care for U.S. veterans.
Trump, in an interview on his favorite news talk show, Fox Friends, continued to defend Jackson, his personal physician, saying, He runs a fantastic operation.
Trump blamed Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, for the demise of Jackson's nomination to the Cabinet position.
The U.S. leader said he now has somebody with a political background in mind to name as a replacement for Jackson to head the Veterans Affairs agency.
Trump said in the Fox interview he had told Jackson a day or two ago I saw where this was going, but had left it up to Jackson to decide whether to do so.
Jackson was fast losing support in Congress.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers indefinitely postponed Jackson's scheduled Wednesday confirmation hearing as they investigated the allegations.
