Tennessee Rep. Ogles proposes legislation amid skepticism over Biden's mental alertness

Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles proposed a bill on Thursday that would force the White House to inform Congress when the president is given medication that could alter his alertness level, judgment, or mood.

Republican lawmakers and voters have expressed concern over the president's mental capabilities as he seeks a second four-year term in the Oval Office this November. A scathing report by special counsel Robert Hur indicated that the president, at the age of 81, was having mental issues, including a poor memory. But former President Donald Trump even speculated that President Joe Biden was given drugs to boost his energy ahead of the 2024 State of the Union.

Ogles claimed that he introduced his legislation, titled the No Juicing Joe Act, to help ensure accountability in the White House.

"Joe Biden’s embarrassing outbursts of anger and incomprehensible speeches mirror the incalculable damage his policies have had on our nation,"  Ogles told Fox News. "Frequently slurred speech, abnormally long pauses and the inability to string together five words in a coherent sentence have put Biden’s mental and physical decline on full display. It is unfair to the American people for the White House to be occupied by someone who is literally incapable of speaking."

Ogles also asserted that the White House has not been forthcoming on testing Biden's memory, or performing cognitive tests. The White House has pushed back on the narratives that the president needs medication in order to perform well. 

"It's telling that Republican officials are unable to stop announcing how intimidated they remain by President Biden’s State of the Union performance," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News. "But after losing every public and private negotiation with President Biden — and after seeing him succeed where they failed across the board, ranging from actually rebuilding America’s infrastructure to actually reducing violent crime to actually outcompeting China — it tracks that those same Republican officials mistake confidence for a drug."

Skepticism about the president's mental capabilities resurfaced last week, after the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report on the president's mental acuity. The report interviewed 45 lawmakers and administration officials. But the White House again dismissed the story, claiming the accounts in the story were motivated by partisan politics.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.