Hillary Clinton along with former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan privately expressed doubts about Joe Biden’s political viability ahead of his 2024 re-election bid, according to Biden’s White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain’s statement, as reported by Fox News.Klain’s testimony came as part of the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing probe into whether senior Biden aides concealed signs of cognitive decline during his final year in office. The session marked the latest in a series of transcribed interviews led by Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).According to a source familiar with the exchange, cited by Fox News, Klain said both Clinton and Sullivan approached him with concerns that Biden lacked the political sustainability to run again. He claimed Sullivan believed the then-president had been notably less effective in 2024 compared to 2022.The source also noted that Klain admitted Biden had shown increasing forgetfulness and signs of fatigue, though he defended the president’s mental competence. “Mr. Klain stated that President Biden often confused names and proper nouns, and it got worse over time,” the source told Fox News, adding that Klain still believed Biden had the “acuity to govern”.This internal criticism reportedly came months before Biden’s July 2024 withdrawal from the race and well before public concerns about his age and fitness for office became widespread.however, Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for Sullivan, denied the account saying, “Jake did not have a conversation with Ron about Joe Biden running for president before the debate.”Sullivan had previously served as a senior adviser to both Biden and Clinton, including as Clinton’s chief policy adviser during her 2016 campaign.Klain, who declined to speak to the media before and after the session, is the sixth former Biden official to testify in the investigation.The rest of the interview touched on Biden’s mental acuity, with Klain reiterating that he never questioned Donald Trump’s cognitive health.The interview was mostly staff-led, with Chairman Comer and Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) attending portions of it. Both lawmakers said Klain appeared forthcoming. “I think he is telling what he knows accurately,” Biggs told Fox News Digital. “He answered every single question. He was fully cooperative,” Khanna added.Several other former aides, including Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden, have participated in the inquiry voluntarily. Three others, including ex-White House physician Kevin O’Connor, invoked the Fifth Amendment.The committee has also requested testimony from Jeff Zients, Biden’s last chief of staff.A source close to Biden’s inner circle previously characterized the probe as a politically driven effort. “This is a dangerous attempt to smear and embarrass,” the source said. “And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump’s DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge.”
