Former President Barack Obama’s White House physician has added his voice to the growing chorus of concern regarding Joe Biden’s fitness to serve, telling The Washington Post this week that Biden’s White House doctor should have conducted cognitive testing during his presidency.
The comments come as President Donald Trump and Republican leaders continue to press for full transparency about Biden’s mental state and the actions taken during his time in office.
Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as the top White House physician under Obama, said that Kevin O’Connor, the physician appointed by Biden and retained since his time as vice president, should have performed cognitive tests in the later years of Biden’s presidency, particularly given his advanced age.
O’Connor had declared in a 2024 report that Biden, then 81 years old, “continues to be fit for duty,” yet no neurocognitive testing was referenced in the report.
“Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,” Kuhlman said, explaining that evaluations should go beyond basic health metrics and take a comprehensive look at fitness.
“It shouldn’t be just health, it should be fitness,” he said. “Fitness is: Do you have that robust mind, body, spirit that you can do this physically, mentally, emotionally demanding job?”
Though he characterized O’Connor as a good doctor, Kuhlman acknowledged that the question of whether key facts were withheld remains open. “I didn’t see that he’s purposely hiding stuff, but I don’t know that,” he said. “Maybe the investigation will show it.”
President Trump is determined to ensure that such questions do not go unanswered. On Wednesday, the President issued an order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to conduct a thorough investigation into whether Biden aides abused presidential authority by using an autopen to sign documents while concealing Biden’s cognitive decline.
“This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” the order states. “The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”
In a statement Wednesday night, Biden sought to dismiss the concerns. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” he said. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations.
Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.” However, Biden’s denials are unlikely to quiet the calls for accountability, particularly given the findings of special counsel Robert Hur.
Hur’s February 2024 report on Biden’s handling of classified documents described the former president as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The special counsel cited numerous instances where Biden struggled to recall critical dates and events, including when he served as vice president and when his son Beau passed away.
Although Hur declined to recommend prosecution, the findings raised alarming questions about Biden’s capacity to fulfill the duties of the presidency.
The issue is now front and center in Congress as well. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has issued a subpoena for O’Connor to testify later this month as part of the ongoing investigation into the possible cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline.
Comer made it clear that the committee intends to pursue this matter vigorously. After Kuhlman’s interview was published, the committee reposted excerpts with the comment, “Even Obama’s doctor admits the truth. This is precisely why Chairman @RepJamesComer subpoenaed Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician. This is a scandal of historical proportions, and we will investigate it thoroughly.”
In his letter to O’Connor, Comer emphasized that the committee is especially concerned about the physician’s February 2024 assessment of Biden as “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”
Comer raised additional questions about whether O’Connor’s longstanding relationship with the Biden family may have influenced that assessment.
“Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its interest in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden’s physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as President,” Comer wrote.
While Democrats and their allies in the media have attempted to downplay the controversy, concerns about Biden’s cognitive state are not limited to Republicans.
Prominent mainstream journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson recently documented internal debates within the Biden White House and the Democratic Party in their book “Original Sin.”
The book paints a troubling portrait of a presidency managed largely by aides, with Biden serving as a figurehead. “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” the authors wrote.
Biden’s allies have tried to dismiss these revelations, with granddaughter Naomi Biden calling the book “political fairy smut for the permanent, professional chattering class.”
But the facts remain clear, and President Trump and Republican leaders are committed to uncovering the truth.
Comer has also requested interviews with a range of former and current senior White House aides, including Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Bruce Reed, Steve Ricchetti, Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams, and Neera Tanden. Comer indicated that subpoenas could follow if voluntary cooperation is not forthcoming.
The American people deserve transparency about who was truly making decisions during Biden’s presidency. The implications are profound: if aides used an autopen to sign critical documents without Biden’s full cognitive participation, the constitutional legitimacy of those actions is in question.
Moreover, if Biden’s doctor failed to conduct appropriate cognitive evaluations and withheld that information from the public, the scandal may run even deeper.
President Trump’s leadership on this issue reflects his unwavering commitment to defending constitutional government and the rule of law. At a time when Democrats and much of the media would prefer to sweep these matters under the rug, Trump is insisting on full accountability.
The President has made it clear that future administrations must never again be allowed to operate behind a veil of secrecy regarding the mental fitness of a sitting president.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are standing firmly behind this effort. Comer’s investigation is gaining momentum, and with Kuhlman’s comments adding bipartisan credibility to the concerns, pressure is mounting on the Biden camp to come clean.
The American people deserve to know whether they were truly governed by an elected president or by unelected aides acting in the shadows.
This is not about partisanship. It is about the integrity of our constitutional system. President Trump and the GOP are working to ensure that such questions are answered fully and transparently.
As the investigation proceeds, Americans can be confident that President Trump will not rest until the truth is known and accountability is achieved.
