What medical evidence has been publicly released about Joe Biden's cognitive health?
Executive summary
Publicly released medical evidence about President Joe Biden’s cognitive health consists mainly of periodic health summaries and a letter from his White House physician describing examinations and specialist consultations, plus older records documenting past brain aneurysm surgery; no publicly released formal cognitive-test results or comprehensive neuropsychological exam outcomes are available as of the reporting in these sources [1] [2] [3]. Critics and some medical commentators say the available documents omit standard cognitive screening and have pressed for specific tests and fuller disclosure, while the White House has maintained that the records provided demonstrate fitness for office [4] [5] [6].
1. What the White House has released: health summaries and a physician’s letter
The Obama and Biden campaigns historically released medical records in 2008 that included treatment for two brain aneurysms from 1988, and more recently the White House published a multi-page “health summary” and Dr. Kevin O’Connor’s letter describing the president’s annual physical regimen and specialist consultations, which the White House presented as evidence Biden remains fit to execute presidential duties [3] [1] [2].
2. Neurology notes and specialist visits are mentioned, but test data are not
Public documents and summaries note visits with neurologists tied to annual physicals and reference a neurological consultation about a stiff gait, yet the released summaries and the physician’s letter do not include raw cognitive test scores or a full neuropsychological report — and reporting indicates the widely circulated 2024 health summary did not include a cognitive screening instrument such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or its results [2] [4] [7].
3. What has been confirmed about historical brain issues
Longstanding, publicly available records show Biden underwent treatment for brain aneurysms in 1988; media coverage from 2008 reviewed those records and medical commentary then indicated the aneurysms were historically treated and not, at that time, an ongoing acute concern — an item of medical history that remains part of his public record [3] [8] [9].
4. Calls for cognitive testing and expert commentary
After the June 2024 presidential debate and subsequent public discussion, medical journalists and clinicians urged formal cognitive testing to clarify whether observed lapses were age-related or evidence of pathological decline, arguing that brief screening tools or more complete neuropsychological batteries could provide objective data; some experts noted that brief screens like the MoCA are informative but not definitive and that further testing can take hours [6] [10].
5. Political scrutiny, document requests and probes
Republican lawmakers and committees have opened probes and requested additional medical records and internal communications related to Biden’s health, and some have subpoenaed or sought testimony from White House medical staff; similarly, congressional inquiries and demands for records from custodians such as the National Archives have been publicly announced as part of efforts to determine whether more relevant documents exist [11] [12].
6. What is missing from the public record and why that matters
The central gap in publicly released medical evidence is the absence of formal cognitive-test results, comprehensive neuropsychological assessments, or detailed neurologic reports that would directly address domains such as memory, executive function, orientation and processing speed; multiple sources explicitly state those data were not part of the published health summaries and that the White House declined to release additional testing information despite calls from critics and some medical commentators [4] [7] [5].
7. Bottom line: evidence present, but not the decisive data clinicians want
The publicly released record establishes that Biden has had medical follow-ups, neurologic consultations and a long-documented surgical history relevant to brain health, and his physician has certified him “fit for duty” in public statements and summaries, but it does not include standardized cognitive-test scores or full neuropsychological reports that independent clinicians and many voters say would be the decisive evidence about current cognitive function [1] [2] [5] [6].