House Republicans to zero in on autopen use as part of investigation into Biden's health

As House Republicans prepare to investigate former President Joe Biden’s health and mental fitness while in office, they are increasingly zeroing in on his use of a so-called autopen to sign certain pieces of legislation and executive orders.

As House Republicans prepare to investigate former President Joe Biden’s health and mental fitness while in office, they are increasingly zeroing in on his use of a so-called autopen to sign certain pieces of legislation and executive orders.

Autopens have been used in the White House to generate signatures for decades, with Barack Obama being the first president to use it to sign legislation. But congressional Republicans — who are largely taking their cues from President Donald Trump — see the use of autopens as a key line of attack as they reopen a probe into Biden’s mental acuity and his ability to do his job as president.

“We’re focused on the autopen,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told NBC News. “Who was making the decisions? Who was authorizing his signature? Was it him?” 

There is no official record of how often Biden used an autopen for official government business. The conservative Heritage Foundation released a study accusing the administration of using an autopen extensively, largely based on the timing of when Biden signed documents compared to when he was traveling. 

The Department of Justice’s office of legal counsel issued a memo on the topic in 2005 that concluded that the practice was legal. A federal appeals court ruled as recently as 2024 that the “the absence of a writing does not equate to proof that a commutation did not occur,” when it relates to the use of a presidential autopen.