Is Joe Biden Even Making Top White House Decisions?
A West Wing official is sounding the alarm over the aging president—and this time it has little to do with his health.
The official, who refused to divulge their policy area, age, or gender in an interview with Semafor, feared that some policy decisions were “being made without” Biden’s knowledge and claimed that it was unclear to even some staffers involved in the West Wing policy process just how many policy proposals were reaching the president.
“I’m super proud of the policies,” the person told Semafor. “I’m talking to you because I’m incredibly upset and scared for the country and I would like to do what I can.” Several Biden administration officials rejected the account, telling the publication that Biden is “in the middle of everything” and is “sweating every relevant detail.”
“He signs off on everything,” White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed told Semafor. “Many of us have sat with him as he’s made hundreds of decisions.”
“Nobody has the authority to freelance,” he added.
Top White House economist Jared Bernstein described Biden as a president who “makes decisions on everything from student debt relief to 301 tariffs to housing policy.”
Panic over Biden’s age and ability has consumed the Democratic Party since the president’s abysmal debate performance last week, during which he appeared dumbfounded and frail through the majority of his first 2024 matchup against Donald Trump. Since the face-off, droves of private-sector leaders, donors, and consultants have urged Biden to exit the race, looking for spontaneous alternatives to a candidate that they openly describe as “comatose” and “dead.”