New House Committee Gets Wide-Ranging Power to Investigate President’s Health, Media Coverage, and Intelligence Sources

Setting up a new Select Committee in the House is usually a big deal, and this one, focused on investigating the President’s health, is no exception. This resolution establishes the “Select Committee to Investigate the Cover-Up of President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.'s Cognitive and Physical Health Decline,” giving a small group of lawmakers significant, targeted investigative power. The core mission is to dig into allegations that information about President Biden’s cognitive and physical health, including a past cancer diagnosis, has been hidden from the public. They have a hard deadline of December 31, 2025, to submit their final findings and recommendations to the House.

The Mandate: Who, What, and the Media

This isn't just a simple health inquiry; the committee’s mandate is sprawling and deeply political. The bill explicitly directs the committee to investigate the roles of Vice President Kamala Harris and Jill Biden in the alleged cover-up, effectively putting the entire executive leadership under the microscope (SEC. 3). For those who follow the news, one of the most unusual provisions is the requirement to investigate how “fake news” and traditional media outlets may have spread false stories about the President’s health. This shifts the focus from presidential transparency to media scrutiny, which can feel like Congress is picking fights with news organizations over what they publish.

Unilateral Power and Low Quorums

If you think of Congress as a place where both sides usually have to agree on things, this committee structure is designed to minimize that need. The Speaker of the House appoints all 13 members and selects the Chair, ensuring one party has total control (SEC. 2). More critically, the committee is granted unusual procedural advantages. For taking testimony or hearing evidence, only two members need to be present for a quorum (SEC. 4). This means that a Chair and one other member can conduct official, subpoena-backed investigations without the presence or agreement of the majority of the committee, including the minority party. For anyone who might get subpoenaed—whether a former staffer, a doctor, or an executive—this means they face questioning and depositions authorized by a very small, highly focused group.

Digging into Sensitive Areas

The committee is also given special permission to access intelligence sources and methods that are usually restricted under standard House rules (SEC. 4). While this access is supposed to be limited to the topics under investigation, it represents a significant relaxation of security protocols for a committee with a politically charged mandate. Furthermore, the committee is tasked with investigating the existence and suppression of tapes and evidence related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation and the President’s use of the autopen for official acts (SEC. 3). This puts the committee directly into the middle of sensitive legal and executive branch functions, raising questions about potential interference with ongoing matters. While the committee has no power to pass laws itself, its findings and recommendations could be used to drive policy changes, or more likely, to fuel political debate and oversight actions against the executive branch for the next two years.