House report reveals post-debate turmoil on Biden's team

After Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance last year his team fell into a civil war, with longtime aides insisting he was fine and others — including his chief of staff and Cabinet members — saying he should consider exiting the presidential race, a new report by a GOP-led House panel says.Why it matters: The report, released Tuesday, is the first time most of Biden's top aides have gone on the record to respond to questions about the former president's declining health, and what aides did to obscure it from the public.It's the result of the House Oversight panel interviewing members of Biden's inner circle over the past several months.Three of Biden's closest aides pleaded the Fifth Amendment rather than answer the committee's questions.Driving the news: Former Biden Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told the panel that he, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and VA Secretary Denis McDonough all expressed concern about Biden continuing his reelection campaign after the debate, the report says.Zients told the lawmakers that "within a few days after the debate, [Biden] was aware of my view that I thought it was prudent to consider getting out of the race."Zients also said that after the debate he urged Biden's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, to do a "full work-up" of medical tests on the president.Other top Biden aides, however, told the committee that concerns about Biden's health after the debate were overblown and media-driven.Asked if he understood that some voters watching the debate felt that Biden was struggling cognitively, top aide Steve Ricchetti said: "It isn't how the country perceived it. That just isn't true."He blamed the "chattering class" for overreacting and said it was "a cheap shot" to "point out two things the president did wrong" in the debate, such Biden's halting answer that ended in, "We finally beat Medicare."Top Biden aide Mike Donilon told the panel he thought Biden "had pretty good answers. Stylistically, I was worried about his voice."Donilon added that he didn't believe the debate "produced a substantial change in the horse race."And Biden's top policy adviser Bruce Reed attributed part of Biden's performance to the former president's childhood stutter, and said of Biden's "Medicare" answer: "We all knew he was trying to say, 'We finally beat big pharma.' "In the weeks after the debate, Biden's inner circle would shrink, as skeptics were pushed out.Reality check: The committee's report was issued only by its Republican-led majority, and includes cherry-picked parts of testimony by Biden's inner circle.Full transcripts of the interviews are expected to be released later.What they're saying: The GOP-led committee titled the report: "The Biden Autopen Presidency Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House."The Republican majority argued that "the Biden Autopen Presidency ranks among the greatest scandals in U.S. history," and urged the Trump Justice Department to investigate.The GOP members also sent a letter to the D.C. Board of Medicine, asking it to look into potential wrongdoing by O'Connor while serving as Biden's doctor.Zoom in: Zients discussed how Biden's age affected some inner workings in the White House over time, such as needing extra meetings to reach a decision.He also said Biden's longtime trouble with names and dates got worse with age."It's never been an area of strength for [Biden], but I think it [has] probably gotten more difficult across time," Zients said, according to the report.Zients also recalled that First Lady Jill Biden and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini were heavily involved in managing Biden's schedule, pushing for him to get more rest.Jill Biden "want[ed] to continue to make sure the president had enough time to himself, that he's not overscheduled," Zients told the panel, according to the report.Zients said Tomasini was the "point person for the president's schedule" and had conversations with Zients about stage-managing Biden and reducing the number of steps he'd need to take in public.Tomasini and Jill Biden's top aide, Anthony Bernal, both invoked the FiFth Amendment to the committee and declined to testify.

Comments

World news

The best thermoses & travel mugs for fall

Global News

Comments

Similar News

We’re spending billions to house asylum seekers like animals in rancid hotels

Victorian planning overhaul to slash new house approvals to 10 days and curb rights to object

Scoop: White House pulls Joel Rayburn's nomination for top State job

New Yorkers sue state elections board as battle over House maps intensifies

The military training camp set to house hundreds of asylum seekers

Why Biden’s White House Press Secretary Is Leaving the Democratic Party

Glenn Beck says Trump told him the real reasons for the dramatic remodeling of the White House

Home Office could house migrants in ‘Portakabins’ in bid to close asylum hotels

John Oliver slams Trump over move more ‘shocking’ than White House demolition

How Trump’s White House Renovation Differs from Truman’s

I’m the lawyer behind Awaab’s Law – no baby should die in social housing again

Before Trump gutted the White House, Erdogan built his ‘White Palace’

Newsom, Harris hint at 2028 White House runs

Granddaughter, 17, and boyfriend brutally murder grandparents then 'play house' like nothing's happened

Ballroom blitz at the White House raises eyebrows

Mass shooting at huge North Carolina house party leaves 2 dead and 13 others wounded

How Trump tore down the White House East Wing, day by day

Trump teases new name of $300m White House ballroom

William’s plans to exile Andrew – and the house move that could undermine them

Chinese drug kingpin captured after audacious escape from house arrest

World news

The best thermoses & travel mugs for fall

8 genius space savers for your home

Alberta teachers say fight just begun but will follow the law in back-to-work bill

Alberta passes bill to use notwithstanding clause to end teacher strike

Blue Jays fans stick it out until early morning hours to see L.A. Dodgers take Game 3

EXCLUSIVE: Alberta UCP members want to debate policies around Bitcoin, mRNA vaccines, separation and more

The 1-gallon rule and five other crucial steps to take before a hurricane hits

Woman who stabbed three-year-old boy to death outside supermarket is sentenced

Storm hunters capture incredible footage inside eye of Hurricane Melissa

NFL mourn death of Oakland Raiders legend George Atkinson

Trump waits on response after latest request to meet with Kim Jong Un

Dutch athlete and convicted child rapist denied visa to compete in Australia

Russia using drones with cameras to hunt civilians across Ukraine, inquiry warns

The key issues to be discussed at Trump’s summit with Lee Jae Myung in South Korea

Venezuela claims to have captured ‘CIA backed cell plotting false flag attack’ as tensions with US grow

Trump administration planning ICE shakeup after failing to meet 3,000 arrests target: report

Jon Stewart tells New York mayoral front runner Mamdani his critics ‘have gone 9/11 on him’

Tensions escalate in Lebanon after UN peacekeepers shoot down Israeli drone

At least 12 feared dead as plane crashes on way to Kenya’s safari tourist hotspot

Five thousand Brits stuck in Jamaica while Hurricane Melissa tears through island

This beloved animal is back from the brink of extinction — with one big caveat

I tested 16 supermarket butters and, no, Lurpak wasn’t the best

Trump’s global influence is waning – just look at how Putin treats him

Look closely and you can see the true Trump plan for America

Donald Trump’s true enemy is his own health

Behind the Curtain: Trump claims the power to do almost anything

Axios interview: Joe Scarborough adds to "Morning Joe" buffet

We're spending more time stuck in traffic than ever

The national redistricting wars are entering a new, more existential phase

House report reveals post-debate turmoil on Biden's team

And so it begins: AI's labor market squeeze tightens

GOP blame game is on as push to stop California redistricting fades

OPINION: Dodgers edge Jays in historic, never-ending drama of heroics and strategy

Hurricane Melissa LIVE: Three dead as Jamaica braces for 'catastrophic' 175mph storm

What we know about Putin’s nuclear Burevestnik missile with ‘unlimited range’

How a Ford pickup truck could become key to Japan’s plan to woo Trump

Istanbul shaken as 6.1-magnitude earthquake hits Turkey

Family of British couple detained in Iran issue update after recent court hearing ‘had not gone well’

World’s strongest hurricane kills several in 175mph winds with worse to come

We’re spending billions to house asylum seekers like animals in rancid hotels

Exclusive: Young AI users more hopeful about jobs, study finds

India braces for Cyclone Montha as schools shut and thousands evacuate

Trial begins for man accused of killing former Japanese PM Abe with homemade firearm

We're on course for landmark moment for greenhouse gas emissions - but there's a catch

Three-year-old girl's heartbreaking question after surviving nursery massacre

Hurricane Melissa mapped: Jamaica orders evacuation as world’s strongest storm sweeps across Caribbean

How a chess club took on a refugee camp’s darkest forces – and won

I visited a refugee camp that’s home to 20,000 people – scars of conflict are on every corner

Brexit reset won’t save the UK from looming EU steel tariffs

The awkward question facing Chelsea’s ‘football nursery’

My brother is fighting in Ukraine. I work on a UK military base to help him

I’m a SEND parent – this is why I am worried about support in mainstream schools

I live in an asylum hotel – this is why I came to Britain

I’ve spent more than £300,000 on stamp duty for two homes – it’s unfair

I got an Irish passport to move to one of Europe’s most liveable and sunny cities

﻿The little-known Swiss region with a sunny microclimate, lakes and palm trees

The three vitamins and minerals you may not know you’re deficient in

The little-known Swiss region with a sunny microclimate, lakes and palm trees