Rear Adm. Brian Monahan has resigned as the attending physician to Supreme Court justices and members of Congress as the Pentagon investigates workplace misconduct, a senior congressional source told The Washington Sun.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed the development to The Washington Sun on Wednesday. “My understanding is he’s resigned,” Thune said. Neither Monahan nor the Navy has publicly announced his departure, and the Navy’s official roster still identifies him as the attending physician for Congress and the Supreme Court.
- Institutional Oversight: The Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General evaluates how effectively Defense Department personnel assigned to the Office of the Attending Physician performed their responsibilities, including providing medical care to beneficiaries.
- Regulatory Accountability: Departures within the Navy’s top ranks raise questions about the military branch’s transparency and its relationship with legislative leadership.
The Washington Sun reported that Monahan’s office was the target of an ongoing Defense Department probe. An evaluation of how well Defense Department personnel assigned to the Office of the Attending Physician carried out their duties was announced to the office in a September memorandum from the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General.
Several sailors working at the OAP were recently reassigned, according to the Navy Times. Employees alleged that under Monahan, sailors were assigned tasks including clipping lawmakers’ toenails. Military members were likewise pressured by civilian superiors to remain in their positions and log 70- to 80-hour workweeks.
At least four people who worked in the office said that mistreatment of sailors had been common over the past decade. They also reported fearing the loss of monthly bonuses if they challenged management.
Monahan’s departure follows a series of under-the-radar changes across the Navy’s top ranks. The dismissal of a commander leading a destroyer in the Middle East and the removal of several senior officers from a nuclear-powered submarine after an underwater crash are among these departures.
The quiet ouststers departed from standard Navy policy of publicizing leadership changes. This lack of transparency angered Democrats as they prepare to take control of both chambers of Congress.
Reps. Joe Courtney of Connecticut and Adam Smith of Washington addressed the Navy’s communication failures in a letter to military leaders.
“As a result of the Navy’s failure to communicate, what should have been a standard exercise in information sharing has instead raised questions about the Navy’s commitment to transparency and its commitment to a productive working relationship with Congress,” Courtney and Smith wrote in a letter to military leaders.
| Incident / Office | Involved Agency | Reported Action / Status |
|---|---|---|
| Office of the Attending Physician | Department of Defense / U.S. Navy | Rear Adm. Brian Monahan resigned amid a Pentagon Office of Inspector General probe into workplace conditions. |
| Middle East Destroyer Deployment | U.S. Navy | Leadership reassigned during a series of quiet top-rank departures. |
| Nuclear-Powered Submarine | U.S. Navy | Senior officers fired following an underwater collision that damaged the vessel. |
The firings and departures have established a contentious confirmation hearing for acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao. President Donald Trump nominated Cao in September to take over the position on a permanent basis.
- U.S. Navy. Navy’s website.
- A September memorandum alerted the Office of the Attending Physician that the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General would assess how effectively its assigned personnel performed their responsibilities.
