- Sen. Roger Marshall said he wants Biden to take a cognitive test because he is concerned for his health.
- Republicans have questioned Biden’s cognitive abilities since before he was elected in 2020.
- Biden’s doctor said after his physical in November he was “healthy,” “vigorous,” and fit for office.
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall expressed interest in having the president take an annual cognitive test, citing concern for President Joe Biden’s health.
“I think we’re all concerned for President Biden’s mental health,” Marshall, a physician and the junior senator from Kansas, said Sunday during an interview on Fox News. He said he feels there has been a “deterioration” in Biden’s “mental capacity” over the past year.
“Maybe we need to be proactive and ask once a year, much like we ask our president to get a physical, something from his doctor, that he also takes some type of mental test,” Marshall said.
He added that it could be something he will look into with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, both Republicans.
“I think we’re all very concerned about his health and it is a national security issue,” Marshall said.
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 13, 2022
Republicans have questioned Biden’s physical and mental health since before he was elected in 2020. As recently as Tuesday, 38 Republicans sent a letter to the president requesting he take a cognitive test.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Marshall’s comments or the letter.
Biden, who turned 79 in November, is the oldest person ever to be elected president. After his annual physical exam in November, his doctor said he was “‘healthy,” “vigorous,” and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,” according to the summary report.
The exam included blood, physical, gastrointestinal, dental, vision, and neurological examinations, among other screenings.
The summary report also said an “extremely detailed neurological exam was reassuring,” and that there were “no findings that would be consistent with any cerebellar or other neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis.”
Politico reported last year that concerns about Biden’s mental fitness are most common among pro-Trump Republicans, but that some in the GOP disagree. GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told the outlet the president was “sharp as a tack” in meetings she had with him. GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is also a medical doctor, said Biden “listened very attentively and appropriately” in a meeting.
Public concern for Biden’s mental health has also swayed, though it is most prominent among Republican voters. In November, new polling suggested public perception of Biden’s mental fitness had declined from a year prior, Insider’s Jake Lahut reported.
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