Fact check: Which US president first used an autopen to sign documents?

1. What the provided sources claim about who started the practice

The assembled analyses present a two-part claim: Truman initiated presidential autopen use for administrative tasks, and Obama set the precedent for signing bills with an autopen. One source succinctly states Truman used an autopen to sign checks and answer mail, and credits Obama as the first to deploy an autopen to sign legislation ^[1]. The three contemporaneous items about Biden’s autopen do not address the origin question, instead documenting oversight inquiries and partisan dispute over a modern instance, which leaves the historical assertions unchallenged within these specific summaries ^{[2] [3] [4]}.

2. How contemporaneous reporting frames the Biden controversy without origin context

Recent reporting summarized in the analyses centers on the House GOP’s investigation into President Biden’s use of an autopen and the subsequent legal and political fallout, but these pieces do not trace the practice back to its origins; they focus on alleged misuse and potential referrals to the Justice Department ^{[2] [3] [4]}. That absence of historical detail in 2025 coverage highlights a reporting choice to prioritize immediate oversight questions. The practical effect is that readers receive intensive coverage of the current controversy while the longer institutional history of autopen use receives little attention in those reports.

3. The scholarly and opinion arguments about constitutionality and precedent

One analysis contends that using an autopen to sign a bill in the president’s absence may be unconstitutional, arguing presidential signature requirements imply personal action and that an autopen undermines that constitutional duty ^[5]. This argument frames the issue as a legal question about the nature of executive action and the textual requirements for enacting legislation. The analysis provides a normative stance anchored in constitutional interpretation rather than a competing historical claim, positioning the autopen debate within broader debates about delegation and authenticity in presidential acts.

4. How different actors invoke precedent to support political claims

Political actors have invoked the autopen’s historical practice to defend or attack modern uses: defenders point to decades of autopen use to argue for legality and continuity, while critics highlight the novelty of signing substantive documents remotely to claim a break with tradition ^[6]. The provided analyses note that presidents have used autopens for decades, a fact used to challenge assertions that autopen signatures are inherently invalid ^[6]. The contrast between institutional practice and constitutional critique fuels partisan claims; the historical record cited in the analyses is used selectively to support opposing agendas.

5. The specific historical markers cited and what they mean

The analyses identify two distinct firsts: Truman as the first to use an autopen for administrative tasks and Obama as the first to use it to sign legislation ^[1]. These markers are significant because they separate mundane administrative use — signing checks, routine correspondence — from substantive official acts that alter legal obligations or enact laws. Recognizing that distinction clarifies why contemporary disputes focus sharply on whether a particular autopen use pertains to symbolic or procedural tasks versus substantive legal acts, and why the Obama example is often invoked in legal and political debates.

6. What the sources omit and why that matters

The provided materials omit independent archival sourcing, contemporaneous presidential records, or primary-document evidence that would more definitively establish dates and documentary instances beyond the claims summarized ^{[2] [3] [4] [1] [5] [6]}. This omission matters because secondary summaries and opinion pieces can compress nuance and conflate different forms of signature use. Without primary citations in these analyses, the identification of Truman and Obama as respective “firsts” should be treated as contested shorthand rather than incontrovertible archival proof within this dataset.

7. Bottom line for readers weighing the claims

Based on the supplied analyses, the best-supported factual claim is that Truman began autopen use for routine administrative items and Obama was the first president noted to sign legislation with an autopen, while modern controversies focus on whether such practice is constitutionally and politically appropriate ^{[1] [6] [5]}. Readers should note the analytical gaps: the contemporary news summaries do not settle archival questions, and constitutional arguments remain debated. The distinction between administrative and substantive autopen use is the key factual and legal pivot in current discussions ^{[2] [3] [4]}.