WASHINGTON — The Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee on Sunday requested that President Joe Biden’s physician appear for a transcribed interview about the president’s medical evaluation.
Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a letter to Dr. Kevin O’Connor he also sought to tie the doctor to a series of inquiries he’s made about Biden’s relatives’ businesses. Comer, a prominent critic of the president, for months, has helped lead efforts for the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into Biden that has fizzled into nothing. Republicans did not provide evidence that Biden was engaged in any criminal actions, despite repeated claims otherwise.
In the letter, Comer pointed to Biden’s response to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos’ question on Friday about whether the president would be willing to take a cognitive test.
“I have a cognitive test every single day,” Biden had responded. “Every day I have that test. Everything I do.”
“You have repeatedly refused most interview requests from the media, and the Committee now turns to you to provide answers regarding your independence because of the mixed and confused messaging coming from the White House regarding the President’s ability to perform his job,” Comer said in the letter.
The letter also pointed to initial conflicting reports about whether Biden had undergone a medical exam since his routine February physical.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre initially told reporters on Wednesday that Biden had not undergone any medical exams since February. Hours later, Biden told a group of governors during a meeting that he was checked by a doctor after the debate, adding that everything was fine, according to sources.
“The statements by the White House Press Secretary and President Biden appear inconsistent, and the Committee seeks to understand the extent of your role at the White House at this time,” Comer said. “Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee also seeks to understand if you are in a position to provide accurate and independent reviews of the President’s fitness to serve.”
Comer also requested in the letter that O’Connor provide documents and communications related James Biden, the president’s brother, and a company the chairman has long sought to tie to the Biden family’s financial conduct.
The chairman requested that O’Connor contact staff by July 14 to schedule an interview.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday evening.
O’Connor was brought in to serve as the president’s physician just days into Biden’s term. He began serving as Biden’s physician in 2009.
After Biden’s routine physical in February, O’Connor said in an assessment that the president “fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
