| Happy Friday! And welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we're crossing our fingers for no rain, less allergies and warm spring weather. We're also heeding the CDC's call not to eat romaine lettuce from certain areas. Don't eat romaine lettuce unless you know for sure it's not from the Yuma Arizona growing region! Next week, Congress is on recess. Tom Price, meanwhile, is returning to the conference circuit, less than a year after he resigned as HHS Secretary. He's slated to speak at the World Health Care Congress at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday. - Also on tap: Seema Verma, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 1:20 p.m. Monday .
- Alex Azar, Health and Human Services secretary, 7:35 a.m. Wednesday.
ICYMI: This week's the spotlight was on Ronny Jackson, President Trump's doctor and his pick to lead the vast Department of Veterans Affairs. Jackson started the week facing questions about his qualifications to the lead the VA, a massive and troubled bureaucracy. He ended the week by withdrawing his name from consideration following more than three days of controversy that included allegations of being drunk on the job, dispensing prescription medication too freely and creating a hostile work environment. The latest: The Secret Service pushed back against one of the most detailed allegations involving Jackson; that during a trip abroad in 2015 he was allegedly drunkenly banging on the door of a female employee so loudly that the Secret Service had to intervene to prevent him from disturbing a sleeping President Obama. "The Secret Service has no such record of any incident," the agency said in a statement. The allegation was first reported by CNN; it did not appear in the report released by Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.), the top Democrat on the Senate VA Committee. Tester's report detailed many of the allegations against Jackson by 23 of his current and former colleagues. However, the committee has yet to corroborate any of them. Read more on that here. Next up: In the wake of Jackson's decision to withdraw from consideration, senators from both parties expressed hope that Trump's next pick would be less controversial. The VA has typically been an agency that rises above partisanship, but there's concern that Trump could react to Jackson's failed nomination by nominating someone who brings political baggage to the job. Why the worry? Trump called into Fox News's "Fox & Friends" morning show on Thursday shortly after Jackson dropped out, blaming Democrats for sinking the nomination. He said his next nominee will have more "political capability" than Jackson. On Friday, during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said he has "many people who want the position" of VA secretary including "some very political people." Read more here. Trial balloons: Trump indicated that many of the names floated before he tapped Jackson would be given new consideration. One name that's come up, according to the Washington Examiner: former House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller. Miller is a conservative Republican from Florida who served as a Trump advisor during the 2016 campaign. While in Congress, he helped design the controversial VA Choice program, which allowed veterans who face significant wait times for medical appointments at the VA to seek private-sector care at the VA's expense. Current House VA Committee Chairman Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) was effusive in his praise: Miller would be "an excellent choice," he told The Hill. Roe said Miller has a track record of working for veterans, and unlike Jackson, his management style and views about the agency are well known. "He'd be easy to confirm." | 
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