Democrats’ mass boycott of a Senate hearing on Biden’s cognitive decline exposes what many Americans suspected all along—the party knew about his mental deterioration and deliberately concealed it from voters and the world.
Key Takeaways
- Senate Republicans held the “Unfit to Serve” hearing to investigate what they call a deliberate cover-up of Biden’s mental decline during his presidency
- Nearly all Democrats boycotted the hearing, which Sen. John Cornyn described as “an admission of guilt for their role in this crisis”
- Republicans raised serious constitutional concerns about Biden’s use of an autopen for signing official documents and his late-stage prostate cancer diagnosis
- The hearing featured testimony from legal experts and former Trump officials who described the situation as a “constitutional crisis”
- President Trump has ordered an investigation into whether individuals misled the public about Biden’s mental state
Democrat Boycott Suggests Admission of Guilt
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution” was notable for who wasn’t there. Almost all Democrats on the committee refused to attend, with only Vermont Senator Peter Welch and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin briefly present. Durbin quickly departed after dismissing the proceedings as a distraction from more pressing matters. The empty seats on the Democratic side of the committee room spoke volumes to Republicans, who viewed the boycott as tacit acknowledgment of their complicity in hiding Biden’s mental decline from the American public.
“I will note that few of my Democratic colleagues are here today. Thank you to Sen. Welch from Vermont for being here, leaving us with no other option than to take the boycott of this hearing as an admission of guilt for their role in this crisis,” said Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
Constitutional Crisis Allegations
The hearing featured testimony from several experts, including John Harrison, Theodore Wold, and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Their testimonies painted a troubling picture of a White House operation that functioned without a mentally competent president at the helm. Of particular concern to Senate Republicans was evidence suggesting extensive use of an autopen for Biden’s signature on important documents, raising questions about who was actually making decisions in the White House and whether Biden was aware of what was being signed in his name.
“Under President Biden, the autopen became a troubling symbol, a symbol of an absentee president in an executive branch directed by nameless, faceless aides that no one outside of Washington, D.C. had ever heard of and no one ever voted for. It was the autopen presidency, a government run by committee rather than a leader chosen by the American people,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project has been investigating the use of an autopen during Biden’s administration, with Republican lawmakers arguing that such widespread use indicated a deliberate attempt to hide the president’s inability to perform his duties. Theodore Wold, a former Trump administration official, described the situation as a “constitutional crisis,” emphasizing the critical importance of the 25th Amendment provisions that address presidential incapacity.
Media and Political Complicity
Senate Republicans did not hold back in their criticism of what they described as a coordinated effort by Democrats, Biden’s staff, family members, and mainstream media outlets to conceal the president’s deteriorating mental condition. Senator Ted Cruz delivered a particularly scathing assessment of the Democrats’ absence from the hearing, suggesting it demonstrated their inability to defend years of deception about Biden’s cognitive state. Cruz argued that Biden’s staff deliberately shielded him from interactions with Republican senators throughout his presidency to hide his condition.
“Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a d— about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years. They knew. Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was mentally not competent to do the job. The White House press secretary, she knew, when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again. And they’re not here because they can’t defend themselves. It wasn’t a surprise, for four years, the White House hid President Biden from Republican senators. Would not let him meet with us,” said Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Questions About Biden’s Health Concealment
The hearing also addressed Biden’s recent revelation of a late-stage prostate cancer diagnosis, which raised additional questions about concealment of his health issues. Republicans questioned why such a serious condition wasn’t detected earlier and suggested that medical information might have been withheld from the public. This concern adds to the broader narrative that voters were deliberately kept in the dark about crucial aspects of Biden’s health and capacity to govern throughout his presidency.
“There was a conspiracy to hide the president’s true condition by his family, by his staff, by the media and many elected officials. With a compromised president, our government’s very legitimacy and capacity to function was undermined. The American people paid a price from President Biden’s handling of the border crisis to the disastrous events we saw unfold in Afghanistan,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
President Trump has now ordered an investigation into whether individuals deliberately misled the American public about Biden’s mental state, signaling that this issue will continue to be pursued by his administration. With multiple committees looking into the use of autopens and other aspects of Biden’s presidency, more revelations about the extent of the alleged cover-up may emerge in the coming months, potentially leading to accountability for those involved in concealing the former president’s condition.
