Ex-Biden Aide Neera Tanden Allegedly Directed Autopen Use Without Knowing Who Provided Final Approval

Neera Tanden, a former aide to President Joe Biden, allegedly testified to Congress on Tuesday that she directed use of the autopen while not knowing exactly who provided final approval.

Tanden testified to the House Oversight Committee that she was authorized to direct autopen use from October 2021 to May 2023 while working as Biden’s staff secretary and senior advisor, the Washington Examiner reported, citing her opening remarks. She also told the committee she had limited contact with Biden and that she did not know exactly who provided final approval for use of the autopen, Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement. (RELATED: LOFTUS: The Big Lie Just Got Much, Much Worse)

“Ms. Tanden testified that she had minimal interaction with President Biden, despite wielding tremendous authority. She explained that to obtain approval for autopen signatures, she would send decision memos to members of the President’s inner circle and had no visibility of what occurred between sending the memo and receiving it back with approval,” Comer explained.

Tanden alleged the Biden administration’s use of autopen was no different from prior administrations in which she served.

“As staff secretary, I was responsible for handling the flow of documents to and from the president,” she said, according to the Examiner. “I was also authorized to direct that autopen signatures be affixed to certain categories of documents. We had a system for authorizing the use of the autopen that I inherited from prior administrations. We employed that system throughout my tenure as staff secretary.”

Tanden reportedly testified that she stopped overseeing autopen use after May 2023, upon assuming the post of Domestic Policy Council head.

“I had no experience in the White House that would provide any reason to question [Biden’s] command as president,” she told the committee.

Tanden criticized the investigation in her opening statement and accused the committee of overlooking oversight of the Trump administration in favor of focusing on Biden, alleging that the former was behind “meme coin and cryptocurrency adventures” and “lawless attacks on universities and law firms.”

She ignored the media when arriving to testify but later told reporters she cooperated with the committee, according to the Examiner.

Biden first nominated Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2021 but withdrew her nomination due to backlash.

Tanden reportedly called for Libya to be forced to turn over oil proceeds to the U.S. as compensation for American military intervention in 2011. She also harshly criticized politicians on both sides of the aisle on social media.

“I don’t mind disagreements in policy, I think that’s great. I love the dialectic, but the comments were personal. I mean, you called Sen. [Bernie] Sanders everything but an ignorant slut,” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said to Tanden in testimony.

She deleted approximately 1,000 tweets within two weeks of her nomination, according to archives on Wayback Machine. (RELATED: Bill Clinton Takes To ‘The View’ To Brush Aside Deluge Of Reports About Biden’s Decline)

Tanden helped found the left-wing nonprofit Center for American Progress (CAP), serving in leadership roles and leading the organization from 2011 to 2020, according to the organization’s website. She returned to the CAP in February as president and CEO of the think tank.

Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Tanden was “very forthcoming” and alleged that investigators were obtaining “a lot better understanding of how things worked in the Biden administration,” according to the Examiner.

🚨Anthony Bernal – Jill Biden’s so-called ‘work husband’ – is now refusing to appear before Congress tomorrow.

Just yesterday, we heard from our first witness, Neera Tanden. Bernal is running scared, desperate to bury the truth.

I’m issuing a subpoena to compel his testimony.👇 https://t.co/iUCzmVyAFK

— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) June 25, 2025

Comer told the Examiner that the committee will release transcripts after all interviews have been conducted.

“I always prefer the transcribed interview/deposition, as opposed to a committee hearing,” Comer said. “So much more substantive.”

Democratic Missouri Rep. Wesley Bell claimed the investigation was entirely political. “This is for one person, their king, to stroke his ego,” he said.

Anthony Bernal, former senior adviser to Jill Biden, is refusing to appear for a June 26 interview before the committee, Comer announced Wednesday. The White House Counsel’s Office waived executive privilege for nine former Biden aides set to testify in congressional hearings on Biden’s fitness, a senior White House official told the Daily Caller on Wednesday. (RELATED: ‘Ridiculous And False’: Biden Responds To Trump Admin’s Autopen Investigation)

Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s former White House physician, is set to testify July 9. Ashley Williams, former special assistant to the president and deputy director of oval office operations, is scheduled for July 11, followed by Annie Tomasini, former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff, July 18.