Cabinet members who had proudly defended Biden’s fitness to serve as president before Thursday night’s presidential debate adopted a more subdued, if equivocal, stance on Friday morning as the debate calmed.
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, the speaker of the House of Representatives, issued a statement Friday claiming the debate “clearly” demonstrated “that Biden is unfit for office.”
“His mental and physical decline has been evident throughout his term as president,” Johnson said. “To anyone who wasn’t paying attention, last night’s events should have served as a wake-up call.”
Fox News contributor Liz Peek said CNN’s post-debate analysis highlighted that Biden appears incapable of serving another four years in office and that even his most ardent supporters are unsettled.
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And after passionately defending Biden’s ability to handle the job of U.S. president before the debate, cabinet members gave brief responses to questions about his performance.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke to reporters at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas on February 7, outlining public safety plans for Super Bowl week. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Asked whether DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was standing by his previous statements, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “yes.” Mayorkas last week denied accusations that Biden was “stalling,” insisting that “the president always draws on previous conversations and past events to analyze issues and reach decisions.”
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The spokesman also argued that the 25th Amendment should not be invoked to remove Biden from the race to make way for another candidate.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also stood by comments he made earlier this month, a State Department spokesman told Fox News Digital, insisting that no one had talked about invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows the Cabinet to act if the president becomes disabled to the point of not being able to perform his duties.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Sedona, Arizona on May 3. (AP Photo/Jake Bacon)
In previous comments to Fox News Digital, Blinken said that in his 22 years working with Biden, “his depth of knowledge, his fluency on policy and politics and his ability to get to the point and make his case are extraordinary. He’s always one step ahead of us.”
A spokesman for Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said she had “nothing to add” beyond her comments last week. Haaland praised Biden’s leadership, describing it as “strong, experienced and compassionate at a time of both environmental and political challenges.”
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“At every turn, he takes the reins and implores us to think more deeply about the task of moving our country forward,” Haaland said in earlier remarks.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also emphasized her support for Biden, according to Energy Department spokeswoman Amanda Finney.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm testified at a hearing entitled “Request for Fiscal Year 2024 Department of Energy” before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Committees, held on March 23, 2023 in the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Yes, the Secretary of State stands by his previous statements,” Finney said in an email to Fox News Digital.
Spokesperson Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Speaking to Fox News Digital, the Secretary of State said he “stands by what he has said before, including the statement he provided to Fox Digital,” and denied there were any rumors about the 25th Amendment and that “it will not be invoked.”
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“In Washington, in my meetings with world leaders, and during tough negotiations with the U.S.,” Yellen previously told Fox News Digital. [Chinese] President Xi Jinping — I’ve always seen President Biden as very well-informed, very fact-driven, and very effective in advancing American interests.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hosts a press conference for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers’ Meeting in San Francisco on November 13, 2023. (Lauren Elliott/AFP)
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When asked about Vice President Harris on CNN and MSNBC shortly after Thursday night’s debate, a White House spokesman did not respond, referring comment to her campaign.
Other cabinet members had not responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment by the time of publication.
