Biden’s Autopen Signature Sparks Debate Over White House Authority

White House with American flag and garden

Biden’s signature on executive orders appears identical throughout his presidency except on his withdrawal from the 2024 race, raising serious questions about who was actually making decisions in the White House.

Key Takeaways

Investigation by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project discovered Biden used an autopen for nearly all official documents, with identical signatures across executive orders.
Only Biden’s withdrawal letter from the 2024 presidential race and Hunter Biden’s pardon appear to have been signed manually.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has called for a DOJ investigation to determine if Biden’s “cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed Biden forgot about executive actions during a conversation, raising concerns about the president’s awareness of documents he supposedly authorized.
The investigation raises constitutional questions about the validity of executive orders if Biden was unaware of their content or authorization.

Identical Signatures Raise Constitutional Questions

A troubling investigation by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project has revealed that former President Joe Biden used an identical autopen signature on virtually all official White House documents throughout his presidency. The only exceptions appear to be his withdrawal letter from the 2024 presidential race and the controversial pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, which was described as “shaky.” The findings have sparked serious concerns about who was actually making decisions in the Biden White House and whether the former president was aware of the policies being implemented under his name.

The autopen, a mechanical device that reproduces a person’s signature, has been used by presidents since Harry Truman. However, the consistency of Biden’s autopen signature across more than 25 executive orders from 2021 to 2025 has raised alarms. Fox News Digital and DailyMail.com independently verified these findings, confirming the same signature appeared on numerous consequential documents, including a 2022 directive on abortion access and a 2024 order to close government offices in honor of Jimmy Carter.

For investigators to determine whether then-President Biden actually ordered the signature of relevant legal documents, or if he even had the mental capacity to, they must first determine who controlled the autopen and what checks there were in place.

Given President Biden's…

— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 6, 2025

Questions of Authority and Awareness

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has formally requested a Department of Justice investigation into the matter, questioning whether Biden was mentally capable of authorizing the policies implemented during his administration. “I am demanding the DOJ investigate whether President Biden’s cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval,” Bailey stated in his call for action.

The controversy gained additional traction after House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that Biden was unaware of executive actions during a conversation they had. In a video shared by the Oversight Project, Johnson recounted discussing Biden’s executive order on energy exports, to which Biden allegedly responded, “I didn’t do that.” This exchange raises serious questions about Biden’s awareness of policies being implemented under his authority and who was actually controlling the autopen that authorized them.

Legacy of Mental Acuity Concerns

The autopen controversy feeds into the larger narrative about Biden’s mental fitness that dominated discussions during his presidency. Special counsel Robert Hur notably described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” in a report earlier in his term. Biden’s presidency was marked by public gaffes and miscues, including incidents involving former President Obama and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which fueled ongoing speculation about his cognitive abilities.

“Whoever controlled the autopen, controlled the presidency,” the Oversight Project said.

The former president’s mental state became a significant issue during his debate with Donald Trump, which ultimately led to Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race. Notably, his withdrawal letter appears to be one of the few documents with a genuine signature rather than the autopen version used throughout his presidency. Bailey argued that if Biden was exploited and unaware of policies being implemented under his name, those orders could be “null and void,” raising unprecedented constitutional questions about the legitimacy of executive actions taken during his administration.

Implications for Presidential Authority

The use of autopen signatures by presidents has a controversial history. George W. Bush reportedly opted not to use the device due to potential legal challenges, while Barack Obama employed it for key documents. However, the revelation that Biden’s autopen signature was used with such consistency raises fundamental questions about checks and balances within the executive branch. The Oversight Project pointedly asks: “For investigators to determine whether then-President Biden actually ordered the signature of relevant legal documents, or if he even had the mental capacity to, they must first determine who controlled the autopen and what checks there were in place.”

Despite the seriousness of these allegations, Biden’s office has not commented on the findings of the autopen investigation, leaving many questions unanswered about who was truly directing policy during his administration. The controversy has sparked significant outrage among conservative social media users and raised broader concerns about transparency and accountability in the highest office of the land. As President Trump begins his term, the legacy of these questions about executive authority continues to echo through America’s political landscape.