Jimmy Patronis wants Congress to investigate ‘cover-up’ of Joe Biden’s mental state

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis wants a congressional investigation into whether former President Joe Biden’s administration hid his mental state from the public.

The Fort Walton Republican unveiled draft legislation to form a select committee to investigate any potential cover-up of Biden’s cognitive abilities, or lack thereof.

“Biden’s own ex-staffers are coming out and publicly bringing this thing to light,” Patronis said in an interview with Florida Politics. “This is very concerning to me, because some of the decisions that were being made, were they by the President? Were they by staff? In what capacity were some of these decisions made? What was his ability to make these decisions?”

Patronis posted a draft of the legislation on X and asked for public input.

The legislation comes amid considerable speculation about Biden’s health following the release of “Original Sin,” a book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson.

Patronis’ bill, as drafted, states “the American people deserve to have a President who is engaged and understands the nature and consequences of his actions.” It calls for a 13-member committee, with most members appointed by the Republican majority in the House but five named by Democratic leadership.

The panel would look at “who was exercising the powers and duties of the President given the coverup.”

To Patronis, the question is chiefly about transparency.

“He may have good days and bad days. Unfortunately, the President of the United States is not allowed to have bad days,” Patronis said. “And a President having bad days because he does not have the ability to make decisions, is why you have to have things like the 25th Amendment in place.”

That amendment sets out a process for members of the executive branch to remove the President if he is unable to discharge the powers of the office and sets up a line of succession to take the President’s place.

“We need to revisit all of that and how much of a cover-up potentially existed — hopefully none,” Patronis said. “But you know what? Let’s just get the questions answered, and hopefully if legislation is needed, new legislation will be proposed. If no legislation is needed, then we’ll have full transparency and the facts will lay out.”

Patronis’ bill calls for a final committee report to be issued no later than Sept. 25, 2026, which would be 39 days before the Midterm Elections.

Of note, President Donald Trump has heavily criticized Biden’s use of autopen to sign executive orders, even threatening to void all of the Democratic President’s orders and actions that were signed off digitally. That includes pardons issued the last day Biden served in January.

Presidents have used autopen for decades, and the Justice Department in 2005, under Republican President George W. Bush, issued an opinion that the practice can even be used to sign legislation, according to The Associated Press.

Still, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican running for Governor, recently called the heavy reliance on autopen by Biden as “worse than Watergate,” words also recently used by Tapper to potentially describe efforts in the White House to conceal Biden’s state.

Patronis said an important part of any committee’s work would be establishing a timeline based not just on the use of autopen but on Biden’s cognitive state at the time any actions were made.

“If there is a timeline that can be established through discovery where the President did not have full control over his decision-making abilities, then now, I think you have to really revisit those particular executive orders, pardons or legislative actions that he signed, or those around him have signed using the autopen,” Patronis said.

“Look, I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but we’re talking about the President of the United States in the world’s most important economy, the world’s most important peacekeeper.”

The current debate comes months after Biden elected not to stand for re-election late in the election cycle, and after Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris, who stepped in as the Democratic nominee months before the election.

Patronis’ bill was filed days after Biden announced he had been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. But Patronis said various developments outside of the work of government can’t dictate whether Congress acts.

“It’s unfortunate that he is dealing with cancer, but it is what it is,” Patronis said. “This is still the government of the United States. And whether the President has cancer or not, the government is going to continue to operate every single day. We’ve got to make sure we get to the bottom of it, because the public deserves to know, no matter what the circumstances that we’re facing.”