- President Joe Biden removed Dr. Sean Conley, a doctor from Trump’s White House.
- Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s longtime physician, will take over the role.
- Conley was accused of hiding information about Trump’s condition after he obtained COVID-19.
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President Joe Biden dismissed Dr. Sean Conley as head of the White House Medical Unit, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Biden appointed Dr. Kevin O’Connor as chief physician of the White House.
O’Connor has been a Biden doctor since 2009 and served while Biden was the vice president, ABC News reported.
Conley is expected to start a teaching position at the University of Uniform Services for Health Sciences in Maryland, the AP said.
Conley, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018, was accused of misleading the public about Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis in October.
Conley was criticized for lack of transparency when he gave updates on Trump’s condition, refusing to say whether Trump had received oxygen. He was also accused of exaggerating the president’s health at the time.
Earlier this year, Conley treated Trump with hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that experts say is not effective in treating patients with COVID-19 and may even have dangerous side effects.
In June, the Food and Drug Administration terminated its authorization for emergency use of the drug for patients with COVID-19.
“When President Trump took the initial course of hydroxychloroquine, there was already ample evidence – and now there is even more – that there were no benefits. In fact, there was a lot of potential damage from cardiac arrhythmias or other adverse effects, ”Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California at San Francisco, previously told Insider.
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Two sources told NBC News in May that many people at the White House Medical Unit thought that Conley had been promoted without due verification.
The White House.
Andrea Izzotti / Shutterstock
The White House’s most senior physician is often chosen from among the military; O’Connor is a retired Army colonel.
O’Connor was called into action last year when Biden tripped, fell and fractured his foot while playing with one of his dogs at his home in Delaware.
Trump used to attack Biden as senile. The Biden campaign released an assessment by O’Connor in December 2019 that described Biden as “able to successfully perform the duties of the presidency, including those such as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief.”