On Friday, the office of Vice President Mike Pence announced that his physician, Dr. Jennifer Peña, had resigned after she had accused Dr. Ronny Jackson, who withdrew as nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs on April 26, of professional misconduct.
Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah released a statement reading, “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.” She added that Karen Pence “has been briefed on all the facts related to a private matter regarding her health care. She is grateful for the professional care she received from all White House medical personnel who resolved the matter quickly. She considers the matter closed and has no further comment on the situation.”
Peña had claimed Jackson might have violated Pence’s wife Karen’s patient privacy rights by sharing details of a medical incident with Chief of Staff John Kelly. The memos she wrote were first reported by CNN.
The White House and Pence apparently felt that Peña had exaggerated the supposed incident because she wanted to to harm Jackson, according to one Politico source.
Jackson served as a physician to President Barack Obama before continuing in that capacity for president Trump; Jackson withdrew from consideration for Secretary of Veterans Affairs on April 26 after Montana Sen. Jon Tester released a document containing allegations against Jackson. The Washington Post later reported that Tester’s document contained factual inaccuracies. As National Review noted, “Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.), who led the congressional probe into Jackson’s conduct, claims the allegations were backed by 23 people but has not produced their names or any other substantiating evidence.”