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Who really ran the country under Biden?
Quick Hit:
Republican leaders are intensifying scrutiny over former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen and his mental fitness during his presidency. A new House investigation and calls for Senate hearings aim to determine whether Biden was actually making executive decisions or if unelected aides acted in his place. This renewed focus follows revelations about Biden’s mental decline and increasing evidence that raises constitutional concerns about the legitimacy of actions taken in his name.
Key Details:
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House Oversight Committee plans to subpoena key Biden aides over autopen use.
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GOP Senators push for hearings into Biden’s competency and health.
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Reports and firsthand accounts depict Biden as detached and cognitively impaired during key presidential decisions.
Diving Deeper:
Liz Peek, a former Wall Street partner and opinion contributor for The Hill, has raised sharp questions about the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s presidency in a recent column titled “Who Was Really Running the Country While Biden Was President?” Peek lays out a compelling case that Biden may not have been in control of the executive branch, citing growing GOP efforts to investigate the use of the autopen and Biden’s apparent cognitive decline.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced his committee would investigate the use of autopen signatures on major executive actions—including what Peek calls “broad (and possibly unconstitutional) pardons for family members, members of the January 6 Committee, and Anthony Fauci.” Comer said he intends to subpoena Biden aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Ashley Williams, alleging they may have “run interference” for the president and overseen the use of the autopen.
Meanwhile, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is calling for Senate hearings on Biden’s health and decision-making capacity. “We have to. I mean, who was running the government?” Johnson told Axios. His concerns are echoed by newly revealed audio from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden, which exposes a man who is more than just forgetful. Hur described Biden as “an elderly man with a poor memory,” but Peek contends the audio reveals “a person who has experienced serious mental decline.”
Peek references the book Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which documents how Biden’s aides went to “extreme measures” to conceal his decline. Peek asserts: “It’s become increasingly clear that it was not Biden” who was calling the shots between 2021 and 2024.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s personal meeting with Biden in February 2024 may have been the most telling. Johnson recounted how Biden flatly denied having issued a recent pause on liquefied natural gas exports—a pause he himself had signed via executive order. “I didn’t do that,” Biden told Johnson, who left the meeting “shaken” and later said, “We are in serious trouble — who is running the country? Like, I don’t know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn’t know.”
Another alarming anecdote comes from then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who noted that Biden often “mumbled” and clung to note cards during debt ceiling negotiations. “He’s not the same person,” McCarthy said, recalling his earlier meetings with Biden as vice president.
The core constitutional concern, as outlined by the Oversight Project, formerly part of the Heritage Foundation, is straightforward: “The Constitution vests the power of pardon in one person and one person only — the President of the United States.” If Biden did not personally issue pardons and other orders, their legal standing may be on shaky ground.
Questions remain about who within the White House truly wielded power. Peek points to longtime advisers like Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn, but adds, “We just don’t know.” She warns this is “not just a fishing expedition,” asserting that “Congress could challenge the legality of measures adopted by presidential aides or officials, rather than the country’s chief executive.”
Liz Peek closes with a strong statement on the stakes: “These challenges to the Biden legacy are just beginning. And it’s about time.”
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
At Tesla’s Austin headquarters, investors backed Musk’s 12-step plan that ties his potential trillion-dollar payout to a series of aggressive financial and operational milestones, including raising the company’s valuation from roughly $1.4 trillion to $8.5 trillion and selling one million humanoid robots within a decade. Musk hailed the outcome as a turning point for Tesla’s future.
“What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla but a whole new book,” Musk said, as The New York Times reported.
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The decision cements investor confidence in Musk’s “moonshot” management style and reinforces the belief that Tesla’s success depends heavily on its founder and his leadership.
Tesla Annual meeting starting now
https://t.co/j1KHf3k6ch— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2025
“Those who claim the plan is ‘too large’ ignore the scale of ambition that has historically defined Tesla’s trajectory,” the Florida State Board of Administration said in a securities filing describing why it voted for Mr. Musk’s pay plan. “A company that went from near bankruptcy to global leadership in E.V.s and clean energy under similar frameworks has earned the right to use incentive models that reward moonshot performance.”
Investors like Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood defended Tesla’s decision, saying the plan aligns shareholder rewards with company performance.
“I do not understand why investors are voting against Elon’s pay package when they and their clients would benefit enormously if he and his incredible team meet such high goals,” Wood wrote on X.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management — one of Tesla’s largest shareholders — broke ranks, however, and voted against the pay plan, saying that the package was excessive.
“While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk,” the firm said.
The vote comes months after Musk wrapped up his short-lived government role under President Donald Trump. In February, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team sparked a firestorm when they announced plans to eliminate the U.S. Agency for International Development, drawing backlash from Democrats and prompting protests targeting Musk and his companies, including Tesla.
Back in May, Musk announced that his “scheduled time” leading DOGE had ended.
Kazakhstan is officially joining the Abraham Accords, becoming the first nation to do so during President Trump’s second term — and signaling a renewed push for peace and stability across the Middle East and Central Asia. Trump made the announcement Thursday on Truth Social, writing, “I just held a great call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of Israel, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the first Country of my Second Term to join the Abraham Accords, the first of many.” He continued, “This is a major step forward in building bridges across the World. Today, more Nations are lining up to embrace Peace and Prosperity through my Abraham Accords. We will soon announce a Signing Ceremony to make it official, and there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH. So much more to come in uniting Countries for Stability and Growth — Real progress, real results. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the announcement, calling Trump “the world’s ultimate negotiator.” Rubio said in a post that “the American people have the ultimate advocate and champion for peace in @realDonaldTrump,” adding that Kazakhstan’s entry “builds on President Trump’s unmatched record of delivering results.” The move represents a significant diplomatic step for Kazakhstan, a Muslim-majority nation that has long sought to balance relations between Russia, China, and the West while maintaining economic ties with Israel and the United States.
According to senior adviser Steve Witkoff, the agreement could be just the start of another wave of normalization. Witkoff told Breitbart News there is “big energy” behind four to six additional countries joining “in the next couple of months,” pointing to Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Armenia, and Azerbaijan as likely candidates. Former Arkansas Governor and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee similarly suggested during a Breitbart Founders Club Roundtable that Saudi Arabia remains the most consequential prospective addition. Huckabee highlighted the United Arab Emirates’ economic transformation since joining the Accords as an example of the tangible benefits for participating nations.
Rubio has also met with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who expressed interest in lifting sanctions to attract foreign investment. While al-Sharaa acknowledged that joining the Abraham Accords may not yet be realistic for Syria given tensions with Israel, he signaled openness to long-term normalization under the right conditions.
Trump, who returned to office in January, vowed throughout his campaign and transition to expand the Abraham Accords beyond their original signatories — Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan — and hinted earlier this year at progress with Saudi Arabia. “They’ll join in their own time,” he told business leaders at the 2025 Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to visit Washington on November 18, while al-Sharaa is expected to arrive next week for meetings at the White House.
The original Abraham Accords, signed in September 2020, reshaped diplomatic relations in the Middle East under Trump’s first term. With Kazakhstan now on board and more nations signaling interest, Trump’s second-term foreign policy is again centering on a message of peace through strength — and a vision of an American-led era of regional cooperation grounded in security, prosperity, and faith.
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