Vice President Mike Pence’s physician, Dr. Jen Pena, resigned Friday following the failure of President Trump’s nomination of White House physician Ronny Jackson to become secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“The vice president’s office was informed today by the White House Medical Unit of the resignation. Physicians assigned to the vice president report to the White House Medical Unit and thus any resignation would go entirely through the Medical Unit, not the vice president’s office,” Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said.
The physician, who worked with Jackson in the medical unit, had reportedly brought allegations against Jackson, the doctor to President Trump and to former President Barack Obama. Jackson withdrew his name from consideration as VA secretary following anonymous claims that he was not judicious in prescribing pain and sleep medication to White House staff and that he drank on the job.
Pena had raised concerns about Jackson’s conduct in memos that were leaked to CNN, in which she accused Jackson of improperly intervening in a medical situation involving Pence’s wife, Karen, and accused him of disclosing details to other providers that he should not have. Pena also wrote that Jackson’s behavior made her “uncomfortable” and that she was considering resigning.
[Pence’s doctor complained to White House about Ronny Jackson last year]
The White House has denied allegations of misconduct regarding Jackson’s work, and the Secret Service has issued a public statement denying at least one of the accusations. A widely reported rumor claimed that Jackson was drunk one night at a hotel and banged on the door of a female employee, and that the Secret Service had to intervene so he wouldn’t awaken Obama. The Secret Service has said that it has no record of the incident.
Trump has singled out Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., for circulating the rumors and has called on him to resign. Jackson continues to work at the White House, which has said it did not have any changes to announce about his role.
