Americans have seen Biden’s decline for years. But now it’s all coming out.
And a top congressman just blew the whistle on Biden’s mental health.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stated Thursday evening that President Biden is showing clear signs of cognitive deterioration, just hours after seeing the commander-in-chief for the first time as the lower chamber’s leader.
“Do you see in Joe Biden a cognitive decline, and if so, is that a danger to the country?” Sean Hannity of Fox News asked the newly installed House Speaker.
“I do. I think most of us do,” Johnson said. “This is not a personal slight to him. It has to do with age and acumen, and everyone’s different. Everyone ages differently.”
“Clearly, if you look at a tape of Joe Biden making an argument in the Senate Judiciary Committee a few years ago and you see a speech that he delivers now, there’s a difference,” he added. “Again, it’s not a personal insult to him. It’s just the way things are.”
On Thursday, Johnson, 51, met with President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to discuss Biden’s additional national security demands for $106 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other initiatives.
The Louisiana Republican was unanimously elected speaker on Wednesday, capping a three-week leadership battle that began with the ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
On Oct. 3, a group of eight Republican legislators led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) teamed with 208 Democrats to remove McCarthy, claiming the speaker had breached a promise to his caucus by passing a bipartisan government budget package.
The bill, known as a continuing resolution, will fund the government at present levels until Nov. 17, after which it may need to be extended until January or April 2024, according to Johnson.
Johnson wanted to pass separate appropriations measures before federal money expired, but kept the option of extending the continuing resolution into next year in a “ambitious schedule” he put out before his election.
McCarthy allegedly considered a “secret side deal” with Biden on additional Ukraine money for Kyiv’s fight against Russia, which the deposed speaker denied.
Johnson, who voted against delivering $40 billion in help to the war-torn country last year, told Hannity on Thursday night that his caucus did not support the president’s request to bundle foreign aid.
“I told the staff of the White House today that our consensus among House Republicans is that we need to bifurcate those issues,” Johnson said, before pivoting to affirm his commitment to halting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive in Eastern Europe.
“We can’t allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine because I don’t believe it would stop there, and it would probably encourage and empower China to perhaps make a move on Taiwan,” he went on. “We have these concerns.”
“We’re not going to abandon them, but we have a responsibility, a stewardship responsibility, over the precious treasure of the American people,” Johnson told Hannity.
“We have to make sure that the White House is providing the people with some accountability for the dollars.”
Biden’s national security program would combine $61.4 billion in assistance for Ukraine with only $14.3 billion for Israel as it fights Hamas terrorists who attacked the Jewish state on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people, including at least 33 Americans.
The White House also requested $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid, including $100 million going to Palestinian people in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
“They use the Palestinians as shields; they don’t even provide the people with clean drinking water,” Johnson said of the terror group.
“We’re supposed to believe they’re going to use US aid for humanitarian purposes. Count me as a skeptic.”
“We have to be very careful that we’re not further funding terrorist organizations that are trying to wipe Israel off the map,” Johnson added.
The Israeli Defense Forces have reportedly delayed their ground invasion in order to obtain the release of more than 200 captives held in Gaza, but have carried out targeted airstrikes in Palestinian territory to kill prominent Hamas commanders.
Johnson, a devout Southern Baptist, described his encounter with the President as “cordial,” but conceded that he agreed with Biden “on almost no policy.”
“I have no problem with President Biden as an individual. You respect the office: It’s a biblical admonition that you give honor where honor is due,” he told Hannity.
“But he and I agree on almost no policy, so we didn’t get into that too much today, Sean, but there’ll be time for that in the days ahead.”
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
