House Resolution Creates Select Committee to Investigate 'Coverup' of President Biden's Cognitive Health

This resolution establishes a brand-new, temporary congressional body: the Select Committee on President Biden's Cognitive Decline. Its core mission, spelled out in Sections 3 and 4, is to investigate the "facts, circumstances, and reasons" behind an alleged "coverup" of the President’s mental fitness. Think of it as a special investigation unit created solely to look into the President’s health and the actions of his staff and administration.

Who’s Running This Show?

This committee is designed to be lean but powerful, composed of 13 members appointed by the Speaker of the House (SEC. 2). While the Speaker must consult with the minority leader for five of those appointments, the Speaker ultimately controls the makeup and selects the Chair. This structure concentrates the power to set the agenda and direct the investigation squarely within the majority leadership. For everyday people, this means the investigation’s focus will likely align closely with the political priorities of the party controlling the House, rather than being a purely bipartisan effort.

The Super-Sized Investigation Mandate

The committee’s job description is massive, going far beyond just reviewing medical records. Its stated purpose is to figure out "who was actually running the country" while the alleged coverup was happening (SEC. 3). Furthermore, it has a sweeping mandate to investigate how intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and the Armed Forces handled information related to the coverup. They even plan to look into whether technology, online platforms, financing, or foreign influence campaigns played a role in motivating or organizing the alleged coverup (SEC. 4).

To power this investigation, the committee is granted significant authority. Under Section 5, it gets special access to look into the sources and methods used by intelligence groups—a privilege usually reserved for standing intelligence committees. The Chair also gains robust subpoena power to compel testimony and documents. This means the committee can pull in virtually anyone—from White House staff to federal agency heads—for questioning, potentially pulling resources and attention away from the core work of these agencies.

What Does This Mean for the Real World?

For the average person, this resolution signals a major political investigation that will likely dominate headlines until its required final report deadline of September 25, 2026 (SEC. 4). While the committee is tasked with reviewing government structure and making recommendations to prevent future coverups, its primary focus is highly specific and politically charged. The broad scope means that federal agencies—including those responsible for national security and law enforcement—will be dedicating time and resources to responding to committee inquiries and subpoenas, potentially slowing down their normal operations.

Crucially, the committee is required to make its findings public in an unclassified form, ensuring that the results of this nearly three-year-long investigation will be available for public consumption. However, given the committee’s narrow, politically framed purpose—investigating a “coverup”—the public should expect this process to be more of a political spectacle than a straightforward administrative review of presidential health standards.