Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) demanded access to sealed Biden autopen records after former Biden aide Neera Tanden admitted she controlled the autopen for over 18 months without direct confirmation from President Biden. Tanden testified before the House Oversight Committee that she authorized and directed the use of the autopen from October 2021 to May 2023, potentially signing official documents—including pardons—while Biden was on vacation.

Committee Chairman James Comer highlighted a possible cover-up of Biden’s mental decline, with the autopen central to the controversy. Schmitt called this “one of the most damning scandals in U.S. history” and submitted a special access request under the Presidential Records Act to obtain documents related to the autopen, pardons, the 25th Amendment, and Biden’s Equal Rights Amendment declaration. Schmitt warned that the country must never again be run by “nameless, faceless staffers” or question the legitimacy of presidential acts.