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The media’s discussion of Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline has evolved from denial to acceptance over the last four years. Now a Wall Street Journal piece details just how much control Biden’s handlers had over his administration, including during key moments such as the disastrous pull-out from Afghanistan.

The Dec. 19 piece, “How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge,” illustrates that, as many Americans (and probably world leaders) suspected, Biden was not fully in charge much of the time.

Early in the administration, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was among the cabinet members consistently attending Biden’s presidential daily briefing “on a rotational basis each week.” That briefing was followed by a private one-on-one between Austin and Biden, The Wall Street Journal report said.  

“But in the past two years — a period when the wars in Ukraine and Gaza demanded the president’s attention — Austin’s invitation to the briefing came less frequently, to the point where the one-on-one meeting was seldom scheduled,” the report said. “When the one-on-one meetings did take place, they were more typically virtual meetings, not in-person. Still, Austin could always get an unscheduled meeting with the president if he needed it.” 

It is one example among many, highlighting how in office and on the campaign trail, Biden’s people — not Biden — were running the show.

Congress must not walk away from this. We need congressional hearings to understand who provided him cover, leaving the United States rudderless and vulnerable to a host of threats, foreign and domestic.

How many turned a blind eye? Quite a few. After all, we are speaking openly about Biden’s limitations, yet he is still in office, allegedly making major decisions such as signing pardons and selling off steel for the border wall at bargain basement prices. All while Biden can’t find his way to an exit.  

“At events, aides often repeated instructions to him, such as where to enter or exit a stage, that would be obvious to the average person,” The Wall Street Journal piece said.

It shows several unpresidential ways handlers managed Biden to keep his condition secret. Staff advised those meeting Biden to keep meetings “short and focused.” Meetings became less frequent in the last two years. Senior advisers often filled roles during administration meetings that would typically be filled by the president.

Staff limited who Biden spoke to and what they said, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meetings were held “later in the day” when Biden was most alert, and if he was having a bad day, the meeting would be canceled. Staff played more of a role in running his agenda than past presidents, said the report, “based on interviews with nearly 50 people.”

What happened to our system of checks and balances? The people in key positions in our government, especially Biden’s cabinet and members of Congress who met with him — failed to stop this charade. Why would they? It was working for them.

Those who helped hide Biden’s weaknesses did so out of greed and a desire for power. They did not safeguard the interests of the nation, and they should never hold positions in the government again.

Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.