As Trump Weighs an Iran Strike, Republican Senators Focus on Biden’s Mental Ability

Most Democrats did not attend Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing looking at the former president’s ability to govern during his term.

President Joe Biden speaks during a presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump.
Gerald Herbert/AP

As President Donald Trump weighed whether to get involved with Israel’s war against Iran, Republican senators spent Wednesday morning airing their grievances about the last president’s performance.

A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity — officially intended to explore constitutional questions surrounding an aging president in decline — devolved into bitter recriminations and arguments among senators about what qualifies as a constitutional crisis.

“Who was running the country?” asked Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, about Biden’s time in office. Schmitt kicked off the proceedings by alleging that Democrats’ handling of Biden’s aging and mental state in office was “the great deception.”