Former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told congressional investigators Thursday that President Joe Biden’s memory and decision-making capacity deteriorated during his term in office, according to the NY Post.

Zients, who served as Biden’s top aide from 2023 to 2024, said he recommended to White House physician Kevin O’Connor that the president undergo “a full medical workup,” including a cognitive exam, after Biden’s widely criticized June 27, 2024, debate performance. That night, the president stumbled through answers, spoke with a raspy voice, and made a series of confusing statements — including a claim that his administration had “finally beat Medicare.”

While Biden’s team at the time insisted he was suffering from a cold, Zients testified that the “mental freezes” observed by aides were unprecedented. Other senior officials — including former communications adviser Anita Dunn and national security adviser Jake Sullivan — also pushed for cognitive testing. Cabinet officials such as Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, VA Secretary Denis McDonough, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly doubted Biden’s ability to mount a successful second-term campaign.

Zients further disclosed that Biden began showing difficulty remembering names and dates, and that policy decisions increasingly required additional meetings to reach conclusions. “Decisions that once required three meetings eventually began to require a fourth,” the source said, describing Zients’ testimony.

The issue of Biden’s stamina was reportedly a recurring subject inside the West Wing, with First Lady Jill Biden urging staff not to overschedule her husband and to allow him to return to the residence earlier in the day. Deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini also discussed limiting the president’s walking distances and stair use, according to testimony.

Zients told lawmakers his role was to ensure Biden had access to a wide range of advisers to inform his decisions. A second source close to the former chief of staff emphasized that he “had full confidence in President Biden’s ability to serve as president and is proud of what President Biden accomplished during his four years in office.”

The six-hour closed-door session is part of the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing probe into the Biden administration. Chaired by Rep. James Comer, the panel has questioned several other former aides, including ex-press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who recently announced a tell-all book on what she described as a “broken” administration.

White House physician O’Connor and Jill Biden’s chief of staff Anthony Bernal have both invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer the committee’s questions.

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