Copyright MSNBC
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., claimed that a new House Oversight Committee report released Tuesday shows that during President Joe Biden’s term in office, the White House worked to cover up severe cognitive decline. Johnson argued at a press conference that “every executive action signed by … autopen without written authorization” during Biden’s term “should be voided.” That includes, he continued, the pardons that were signed in the waning days of the “Biden autopen presidency,” a label Johnson and committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., have dubbed it. The report follows a broader trend in the MAGA era of the GOP-led Oversight Committee Since becoming Oversight chair in January 2023, Comer has been laser focused on Biden’s mental state, even as evidence to substantiate Comer’s claims of wrongdoing has proved scarce. In a press release accompanying the report, he claimed that the “Biden Autopen Presidency will go down as one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history.” The committee’s findings have been forwarded to Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom Comer asked in a letter to “investigate all executive actions during the Biden Administration to ascertain whether they were duly authorized.” The letter names two senior White House advisors under Biden, as well as White House Physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and requests that Bondi determine whether any of official action from them “constitutes criminal activity.” A spokesperson for Biden rejected the committee’s findings, saying in a statement to The Washington Post, “there was no conspiracy, no cover-up and no wrongdoing.” The former president told The New York Times earlier this year that he “made every decision” during his term and that the use of an autopen was necessary due to the large number of clemency decisions and pardons issued. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, slammed the GOP majority for their monomaniacal tendencies during a government shutdown: “While House Republicans obsess about President Biden’s health, they are ripping away health care from 17 million Americans and spiking premiums. It’s clear the only person’s health that Republicans care about is Joe Biden’s.” The report follows a broader trend in the MAGA era of the GOP-led Oversight Committee focusing on wild accusations against Democrats rather than substantive congressional oversight over President Donald Trump’s actions. In many cases, including this report, the committee has been more likely to follow Trump’s lead than determine its own agenda. The president ordered Bondi back in June to investigate the supposed autopen scandal; the House GOP investigation merely adds unneeded fuel to the conspiracy-driven fire. Moreover, there is every chance that the apparent projection from Republicans could come back to haunt them. Trump has been at times conspicuously vocal about his own mental fortitude, even as he approaches his 80th birthday. He recently bragged about his MRI results from a visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, without explaining the purpose of the MRI. Setting a precedent for future Democrats to potentially nullify Trump’s executive orders due to his advanced years may not prove to be a particularly forward-thinking strategy for the GOP.
