Imagine a president leading the country while secretly battling a fading mind—decisions being made, laws being signed, all while those closest to him scramble to keep it hidden. That’s the explosive claim Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican and former White House doctor, is making about former President Joe Biden. As of April 2025, House Republicans are gearing up to investigate what Jackson calls a “cover-up” of Biden’s cognitive decline, pointing fingers at Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s personal physician, and even First Lady Jill Biden. What they’re asking is shocking: Did we have a “shadow presidency” where someone else was pulling the strings?
Jackson, who once served in the White House Medical Unit under three presidents before joining Congress, isn’t holding back. Now chairing a House Intelligence subcommittee, he told The New York Post on April 5, 2025, that O’Connor “will absolutely, positively be implicated” in hiding Biden’s health struggles. “I guarantee you Kevin O’Connor has medical information that the American people don’t have,” Jackson said, hinting at secret medications or treatments to mask Biden’s condition. He’s known O’Connor for years and claims the doctor was so loyal to the Biden family—practically “part of” it—that he’d risk his career to protect them.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Republicans want to know if Biden, who was 82 when he ran for reelection in 2024, was mentally fit to lead—or if his presidency was a sham propped up by those around him. Jackson says the House will probe whether “we actually had a shadow presidency for a large part of [Biden’s] term.” That means questioning not just O’Connor but other doctors, like Parkinson’s specialist Dr. Kevin Cannard, who visited the White House eight times between July 2023 and March 2024. O’Connor brushed off concerns, saying only three visits were for Biden’s annual physicals and that there’s “no” reason to worry. But with Biden’s public gaffes—like mixing up world leaders’ names—and a special counsel report calling him a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” doubts are piling up.
The timeline fuels the fire. In July 2024, just days after Biden dropped out of the presidential race, O’Connor insisted Biden’s mental sharpness was “excellent.” Yet, earlier that year, the White House said no cognitive test was needed, even as Biden stumbled through speeches. After a disastrous debate against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, Jill Biden cheered, “Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question!”—despite Biden freezing on stage. To critics like Jackson, it’s proof of a cover-up orchestrated by O’Connor and Jill Biden. “This could not have been covered up without [them],” he insists.
Then there’s the paper trail—or lack of it. Some of Biden’s last-minute pardons, including for Dr. Anthony Fauci and Biden’s brother James, raised eyebrows. The Heritage Foundation found several were signed with an autopen, a machine that mimics a signature. Did Biden even know what he was signing? Jackson asks, “Are [these laws] legitimate? Was he even aware of what was going on?” It’s a question that could shake trust in Biden’s entire presidency.
O’Connor, who stepped down as White House doctor in favor of Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, has stayed out of the spotlight, never once facing the press during Biden’s term. Last year, he dodged a request to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Now, with Republicans vowing to haul in doctors and experts to test for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or “whatever else,” the reclusive “Doc”—as Biden called him—might not be able to hide much longer.
Since Biden left office, whispers from Democrats have turned into shouts. Some worried he’d “die in office”; others called him “out of it” before that fateful debate. Jackson, who warned about Biden’s fitness back in 2020, feels vindicated. “They knew two or three years ago,” he says, accusing insiders of “cashing in” on the truth now with tell-all books. For him, this isn’t just about health—it’s about accountability. “Those purposely lying to the American people and covering this up” need to answer for it, he says.
So, what’s next? As Congress digs in, we’re left wondering: Was Biden really in charge, or were we all deceived? The answers could rewrite how we see his time in office—and who was really running the show.
