Who has officially held the role of Physician to the President since 2017 and what were the transition announcements?
Executive summary
Since 2017 the official holders of the Physician to the President have been Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson (who began before 2017 and served into 2018), Navy Capt. Sean P. Conley (2018–2021), Dr. Kevin O’Connor (appointed at the start of the Biden administration in January 2021), and, as of March 2025, Navy Capt. Sean P. Barbabella (appointed under President Donald J. Trump) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Each handoff was accompanied by different styles of public explanation — from formal nomination notices to short White House announcements and professional association statements — and at least one transition intersected with partisan controversy and further White House roles for a prior physician [1] [6].
1. Ronny Jackson — continuity into the Trump years and an abrupt political pivot
Ronny Jackson served as Physician to the President prior to 2017 and continued into the early Trump administration, formally holding the title until 2018; his service as White House physician dated back to 2013 and encompassed both the Obama and Trump presidencies [1] [7]. The transition trigger in 2018 was not a routine handover but Jackson’s March 2018 nomination by President Trump to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs — a political move announced publicly — which was followed by Jackson’s withdrawal from consideration the next month amid allegations and inquiries about his conduct while serving in the White House [1]. That sequence produced an atypical public record around the office because the nominee’s prospective Cabinet elevation, subsequent withdrawal, and later reemergence in a presidential advisory role blurred the lines between clinical continuity and partisan appointment [1] [6].
2. Sean Conley — a clinical steward during a crisis and the quiet assumption of duties
Sean P. Conley became Physician to the President after Jackson’s departure in 2018; sources record Conley’s tenure running from 2018 through January 2021, a period that included managing the president’s care after the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis and public briefings about that care [2]. Conley’s assumption of the role was described as a succession that followed Jackson’s nomination for VA secretary, and his public role became especially visible during October 2020 when he addressed the press about the president’s condition [2]. The transition into Conley’s stewardship was characterized in reporting as an internal White House Medical Unit appointment rather than a Senate-confirmed public nomination, reflecting the usual practice of commissioning military physicians to the post with relatively brief public announcements [7] [2].
3. Kevin O’Connor — inauguration appointment and public confirmation in Biden’s first week
President Joe Biden announced that Kevin O’Connor would serve as White House physician shortly after the 2021 inauguration, and O’Connor began serving in the role on or around Inauguration Day with formal confirmation in White House communications and university and professional profiles thereafter [3] [8] [9]. O’Connor’s appointment was framed in public notices as a return to a familiar White House physician with prior experience in the White House Medical Unit and as former physician to the vice president, and reporting noted that the announcement was made within days of the transition of administrations — consistent with the practice of rapid commissioning of military medical officers at inaugurations [3] [9] [7]. Official archival material from the White House Medical Unit and O’Connor’s letterhead further documented the appointment and his role as the White House physician responsible for the president and immediate senior staff [8].
4. Sean Barbabella — a 2025 appointment and the continuing pattern of naval DOs
In March 2025, professional association and updated reference entries reported that Capt. Sean P. Barbabella, DO, MC, USN, was serving as Physician to the President for President Trump, with announcements appearing in the American Osteopathic Association notice and updated reference pages [4] [5]. That announcement followed the modern pattern of commissioning military physicians — in this case a decorated Navy DO with combat and emergency-medicine credentials — and was presented publicly through professional channels rather than a Senate-confirmed process [4] [7]. The appointment was described in professional statements emphasizing Barbabella’s military and clinical credentials and marked a continuation of recent practice in which osteopathic physicians have occupied the post [4] [10].
Context, transparency, and political overlay
The role is typically filled by senior military physicians commissioned by the president without Senate confirmation, enabling rapid transitions at inaugurations but also limiting public documentation beyond White House or professional announcements [7]. Where transitions intersected with political moves — notably Jackson’s 2018 nomination and later advisory role — reporting highlighted how that politicization complicated public clarity about the office and raised questions about the boundary between medical stewardship and partisan service [1] [6]. Sources used here consist of contemporary reporting, professional association releases, and public archival notices; where a claim is not explicitly documented in these materials, this account does not assert missing details.