Sean Patrick Conley (born 1980) is an American physician and
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
officer who served as the
Physician to the President
The physician to the president is the formal and official title of the physician who is chosen by the president to be his personal physician.
Often, the physician to the president also serves as the director of the White House Medical Unit, a u ...
from 2018 to 2021. Conley served as physician to president
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, often serving as the president's medical advisor, and treating the president when he tested positive for COVID-19.
Early life and education
Conley, born in 1980 in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton,
north of Center City, Philadelphia,
southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City.
As of the 2020 ...
, graduated from
Central Bucks High School East
Central Bucks High School East is a public high school serving students in tenth through twelfth grades, one of three high schools in the Central Bucks School District. The school is located in Buckingham, Pennsylvania in Bucks County, adjacent to ...
in 1998 and received his bachelor's degree from the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
in 2002.
Conley received his
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become lice ...
degree from the
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2006. He is a 2013 graduate of the
Emergency Medicine Residency Program of
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
The Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), formerly Naval Hospital Portsmouth, and originally Norfolk Naval Hospital, is a United States Navy medical center in Portsmouth, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest continuously running hospital ...
in
Portsmouth, Virginia. He received the Honor Graduate Award, Nurses' Choice Award for Outstanding Senior Resident Award, and the Resident Research Award.
Career
Military service
![NATO Role 3 hospital team saves Romanian soldier 140509-Z-MA638-002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/NATO_Role_3_hospital_team_saves_Romanian_soldier_140509-Z-MA638-002.jpg)
In 2014, he served as an emergency physician with the
International Security Assistance Force
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, command ...
at
Kandahar International Airport
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city Ka ...
outside the city of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. He was assigned to NATO Role 3 MMU, and was appointed head of the trauma department. The unit received a commendation from the
Romanian Land Forces
The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...
for saving the life of a Romanian soldier injured by an
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...
in 2014.
He served as the research director at Portsmouth Navy Department of Emergency Medicine prior to his assignment to the
White House Medical Unit
The White House Medical Unit (WHMU) is a unit of the White House Military Office and is responsible for the medical needs of White House staff and visitors. The unit also provides medical care to the president, the vice president, their families, ...
.
Physician to the President
Conley became the physician to the president upon the nomination of the previous physician,
Ronny Jackson
Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and retired United States Navy rear admiral who is the U.S. representative for .
Jackson joined the White House Medical Unit in the mid-2000s under George W. Bush, a ...
, for
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits, health care, and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a me ...
. He became the acting White House physician on March 28, 2018, and on May 4, 2018, became the physician to the president.
On May 18, 2020, President Donald Trump surprised listeners when he revealed he was taking
hydroxychloroquine
Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...
as a preventive measure against
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
. He confirmed that he was taking it under the guidance of Conley, who later issued a confirmation. Several medical warnings had been issued against the drug's use for treating COVID-19.
In the early morning of October 2, 2020, the White House announced that President Trump and First Lady
Melania Trump
Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...
had
tested positive for COVID-19 after they were tested as a precaution when Trump's top aide,
Hope Hicks
Hope Charlotte Hicks (born October 21, 1988) is an American public relations executive and political advisor who served in President Donald Trump’s administration from 2017 to 2018 and 2020 to 2021. She served as White House Director of Strate ...
, tested positive. At first, Trump began self-isolating in the White House, but under the recommendation of Conley, he was transferred to
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He drew scrutiny regarding his public assessments of Trump's health during the president's hospitalization. In contradiction to Conley's previous statements surrounding hydroxychloroquine, he released a statement to
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany
Kayleigh McEnany (; born April 18, 1988) is an American conservative political commentator and author who served the administration of Donald Trump as the 33rd White House press secretary from April 2020 to January 2021.
Early in the 2016 Re ...
that he had decided to place Trump under an antiviral therapy, specifically
remdesivir
Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication developed by the ...
. Conley described Trump's symptoms on the day of the announcement as "fatigued but in good spirits". Conley incorrectly identified a Regeneron product of
monoclonal antibodies as a
polyclonal antibody
Polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) are antibodies that are secreted by different B cell lineages within the body (whereas monoclonal antibodies come from a single cell lineage). They are a collection of immunoglobulin molecules that react against a sp ...
cocktail in a press release. Later, he updated Trump's symptoms as "nasal congestion and a cough and fatigue."
With regard to the first lady, Conley described her as "well with only a mild cough and headache."
On the morning of October 3, Conley gave a press briefing regarding Trump's health, stating that he and his team of physicians were "extremely happy" with the president's condition, and noting that most of the president's symptoms had subsided.
However, Conley stated that Trump was "72 hours into this diagnosis" which implied that Trump had attended a rally in Minnesota, knowing he was a potential COVID-19
vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
at the time. The 72 hour remark was quickly corrected by a press release indicating that the president was diagnosed the evening of October 1.
On the evening of October 3, Conley warned that Trump was "not yet out of the woods" with regard to his condition.
In an October 4 press conference, Trump's medical team said that he was "doing really well" after his oxygen level dipped the day before and after he was given the steroid
dexamethasone
Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye surgery, superior vena ...
, which works by reducing inflammation in the lungs. Asked if CT scans showed pneumonia or lung damage, Conley said, "There's some expected findings, but nothing of any major clinical concern." He declined to say what was found, citing HIPAA guidelines that ensure patient privacy. When asked why he was reluctant to disclose that Trump had been given oxygen during the October 3 briefing, Conley stated that he did not want to "give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction" and "it came off that we're trying to hide something, which wasn't necessarily true."
White House director of strategic communications
The White House Director of Strategic Communications is a senior member of the President's staff, reporting directly to the President and working in conjunction with the White House Communications Director.
President Donald Trump formed the posi ...
Alyssa Farah later stated that it was "a common medical practice that you want to convey confidence, and you want to raise the spirits of the person you're treating," while also asserting that Meadows' anonymous statement to reporters was intended to "give you guys more information just to try to be as transparent as we can".
At 2:37 p.m. EDT on October 5, Trump tweeted that he would be discharged from the hospital at 6:30 p.m. that day. However, doctors said in an afternoon news briefing that Trump continued to be treated with dexamethasone and remdesivir.
The prospect of Trump's early release astonished infectious-disease experts, who noted that Trump planned to be discharged in a period when COVID-19 patients are particularly vulnerable (7–10 days after symptoms first appear) to unpredictable and rapid declines in condition.
Outside physicians stated that the depiction of Trump's illness as relatively mild was inconsistent with the aggressive treatment he was receiving.
Trump's medical team made cryptic remarks about his status and declined to say whether Trump's CT scans contained indications of pneumonia or lung damage.
In the White House, Trump continued to receive
dexamethasone
Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye surgery, superior vena ...
and
remdesivir
Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication developed by the ...
. He conducted business without wearing a mask. Conley said in a memo that Trump has "no symptoms" and is doing "extremely well." That optimistic message was later called into question. According to the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, "then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said at the time that Trump’s condition was worse than Conley had let on".
Newly inaugurated president
Joe Biden announced on January 25, 2021, that he would appoint
Dr. Kevin O'Connor as the White House physician. According to a CNN report, "Conley was seen departing the White House alongside Trump" on January 20, 2021. The AP reported that Conley would be taking on a "teaching role" at the
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Sean
1980 births
Living people
American osteopathic physicians
Articles containing video clips
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
People from Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine alumni
Physicians from Pennsylvania
Physicians to the President
Trump administration personnel
United States Navy Medical Corps officers
University of Notre Dame alumni