Biden did not see a neurologist outside of annual exams, says White House doctor

President Joe Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual exams, White House physician Kevin O’Connor said in a letter released Monday night addressing White House visits from a Parkinson’s disease specialist.

Visits from expert Dr. Kevin Cannard raised questions that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had left unanswered earlier in the day. Biden has been on the defensive trying to reassure US and Democratic lawmakers that he can run and win after a poor debate performance last month.

NBC News previously confirmed New York Post report That said a Parkinson’s specialist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House at least eight times in eight months, according to public visitor records.

O’Connor’s letter detailed Cannard’s experience as a neurology specialist and noted that he has been a neurology consultant at the White House Medical Unit since 2012. Cannard was the one who examined Biden for each of his annual physical exams, including the most recent in February. , O’Connor wrote.

Before the Covid pandemic, the letter said, Cannard held regular neurology clinics at the White House Medical Clinic for the thousands of active-duty military personnel assigned to support White House operations.

“Seeing patients at the White House is something Dr. Cannard has been doing for twelve years,” O’Connor wrote. “Dr. Cannard was chosen for this responsibility not because he is an expert in movement disorders, but because he is a highly trained and highly regarded neurologist here at Walter Reed and throughout the Military Health System, with a very broad experience that makes him flexible to see a variety of patients and problems.”

Jean-Pierre said at a news conference on Monday that Biden has a comprehensive annual physical that includes consultations with a neurologist and that the results have been shared publicly. She did not release names, citing what she said were security concerns.

The White House Medical Unit has thousands of patients and typically does not release the names of the doctors it works with, O’Connor wrote in the letteraddressed to Jean-Pierre.

“However, in the interest of accuracy, I have obtained permission from the President and Dr. Cannard to confirm the details I am sharing,” he wrote.

O’Connor also wrote that Biden had a physical exam in February and showed no signs of any neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease.

“The results of this year’s examination were detailed in my letter of February 28: ‘An extremely detailed neurological examination was again reassuring as there were no results that were consistent with any cerebellar disorder or other central neurological disorder such as stroke, sclerosis multiple, Parkinson’s, or lateral ascending sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy,’” O’Connor wrote.

On Tuesday, the White House clarified that Biden was seen by Cannard at the White House on January 17, 2024, as part of his physical exam before his visit to Walter Reed the following month.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the purpose of the January visit on Tuesday night, after incorrectly saying during the press briefing earlier in the day that the January 17 meeting was unrelated. to the president, in response to a question from The Associated Press.

“As the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to make it clear that the January 17 meeting between Dr. O’Connor and Dr. Cannard was for the president’s physical examination,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement reported by first time by The Associated. Press. “It was one of three times the president saw Dr. Cannard, each time for his physical examination. The results of each test were released to the public.”

Questions about Biden’s health come after a poor debate performance that left people, including some Democratic lawmakers, questioning whether he should resign and allow someone else to run.

Biden has resisted those calls and on Monday repeated that he will remain in the race.