Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said Wednesday on Newsmax that the first congressional hearing into former President Joe Biden's alleged mental decline was aimed at preventing such a "cover-up" from ever happening again, accusing Democrats and the media of misleading the American people for years.

Schmitt said Wednesday that the focus of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing into Biden's mental fitness while in office was to ensure that "we can never let this happen again."

Appearing on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," the Missouri Republican said Democrats "ignored the hearing like they ignored Biden's mental decline for four years."

"They didn't want to talk about it because the truth is too painful," Schmitt said. "And they weren't alone. The legacy media perpetuated these lies on the American people."

The hearing marked the first in a series of GOP-led efforts to probe what Republicans describe as evidence of a cover-up surrounding Biden's cognitive state while serving as commander in chief. Only two Democrats — Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Peter Welch of Vermont — were present for the session, with Durbin immediately walking out.

Schmitt said the stakes couldn't be higher.

"If you care about, like, the constitutional order, having a president who can make decisions is kind of an important thing," he said. "Who in the world was running the country when Joe Biden was in office? We still don't have great answers for that. It was just a bunch of unelected folks."

Among the concerns raised during the hearing, Schmitt pointed to the use of the presidential autopen to sign official documents.

"You've got real questions about the use of the autopen. You've got pardons that were, you know, a part of that. I mean, this is just a — it's a huge problem that existed, that the media covered up along with the Democrats. That can't ever happen again," he said.

Last week, Schmitt launched a whistleblower hotline to encourage former White House staff and federal officials to come forward with information "regarding the cover-up or insight into who was running the country while the president was sidelined." Tips can be submitted to bidentips@schmitt.senate.gov.

"Today was really kind of lay the foundation for further inquiries," Schmitt said. "One thing I think that will come out of this — when you use the autopen, there's supposed to be a paper trail of the president actually authorizing that. And so we're probably going to make a special request to the archivist to find out: Was that actually being authorized? Was there anybody at home?"

Schmitt said whistleblowers have already come forward with alarming claims, including that Biden was so disoriented he "would get lost going to the bathroom."

"This is a man who was clearly compromised," Schmitt said. "You look at everything that's happening in the world right now, you really need a president, as President Trump does, communicating with the American people and having his full capacities to make important decisions. Because there's only one person elected by the whole country. And so having that one person being able to do the job is important."

GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!

Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.

You need to watch NEWSMAX today.

Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!

Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now

BEST OFFER:

Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.

Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.

Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!

Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.

Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!

Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.