Book: Pence told ‘to be on standby’ for Trump hospital visit

WASHINGTON — A new book is reviving questions about President Donald Trump’s unscheduled visit to Walter Reed military hospital last fall with the revelation that “word went out” for Vice President Mike Pence to stand by to temporarily assume presidential powers if Trump had to receive anesthesia for a medical procedure.

The White House has said the president’s November 2019 visit, which raised questions at the time about Trump’s health, was part of his routine annual physical, and said the president wanted to get a head start on what typically is an hours-long, head-to-toe exam because he’d be busy this year with campaigning.

A president’s routine medical checkup typically is announced ahead of time.

The White House provided no other details at the time. Trump’s White House doctor said in a statement Tuesday the president “remains healthy” and “fit to execute the duties of the Presidency.” Pence’s office declined comment.

Trump visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, about a month before the Democratic-controlled House impeached him over his conduct toward Ukraine.

“In reporting for this book, I learned that in the hours leading up to Trump’s trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized,” Michael Schmidt writes in “Donald Trump v. the United States: Inside the Struggle To Stop A President.”