Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) introduced a bill addressing abuse of the autopen amid investigations into its overuse during the Biden administration.
The bill, called the “Ban on Inkless Directives and Executive Notarizations Act of 2025,” or the BIDEN Act, would prohibit the autopen for signing bills, executive orders, pardons, and commutations. It specifically amends Title 3 of the United States Code.
Under the legislation, the code would be amended to add the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding this section or any other provision of law, no person other than the President may lawfully sign an engrossed bill, Executive Order, or pardon or commutation, nor may automatic signing device, including an autopen, be used for such purpose.’’
“The American people elect a President to run the country, not a cabal of woke staffers. Sadly, that is exactly what the American people received under Joe Biden,” said McDowell. “While Joe Biden worried more about breaking glass ceilings as commander in chief, his legacy will forever be tied to the lack of oversight he provided to the presidential autopen. The BIDEN Act will ensure that rogue bureaucrats can no longer take advantage of a mentally incompetent President to seize authority awarded to the Oval Office.”
The bill follows a major interview where Biden admitted that he did not individually approve each name for those receiving pardons. Instead, he “signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence,” the New York Times reported. After such decisions were made, the Bureau of Prisons “kept providing additional information about specific inmates, resulting in small changes to the list.”
