An expert on Parkinson's disease visited the White House eight times over eight months last summer, meeting with President Joe Biden's physician, according to visitor logs.
Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist and Parkinson's disease expert at Walter Reed Medical Center, met with Biden's top doctor, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, and two others at the White House residence clinic on Jan. 17. Cannard has worked at Walter Reed for close to 20 years and is cited as being a "neurology specialist supporting the White House Medical Unit," according to his LinkedIn profile.
It is unknown if Cannard was at the White House because of the president or having unrelated meetings with the White House medical team.
"A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds," Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said in a statement to The New York Times.
Cannard previously visited the White House numerous times during the Obama administration.
Bates told the Times Biden is seen by a neurologist once a year and has shown no signs of Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease is a neurological condition that causes a gradual loss of nerve cells in the brain, resulting in various symptoms such as tremors, slowness, and stiffness of the limbs. The disease can also manifest in decreased facial expressions, soft speech, and postural instability, according to the Parkinson's Foundation.
O'Connor has previously declared the president "fit for duty" and has not ordered any cognitive testing. Biden has declined to undergo an independent cognitive test.