WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has named Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson as assistant to the president and chief medical adviser, the White House announced Saturday.
The president also nominated Jackson for a promotion to a two-star admiral in the U.S. Navy on Friday.
Jackson, the president's former physician, was tabbed last year to lead the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs before he withdrew after allegations of misconduct and mismanagement during his service in the White House surfaced.
The rear admiral, who also served as a White House physician under the former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, has denied all of the allegations leveled against him, calling them "completely false and fabricated."
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Jackson is still under investigation by the Pentagon over allegations of improper behavior.
The dual announcements concerning Jackson came ahead of Trump's physical exam this year, which is scheduled for Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, in the state of Maryland.
Jackson made headlines last year shortly after conducting Trump's physical, when he reported that the president was in "excellent" health with "great genes."
Last year's test also showed that Trump, weighing in at 239 pounds, had a coronary calcium score consistent with heart disease and presented a high level of LDL, known as "bad cholesterol."
Jackson then recommended that Trump lose 10 to 15 pounds.
