Biden delegates powers amid rising online conspiracy theories

Joe Biden signed a document in which he delegates some of his powers, meaning he is not performing certain presidential duties. "It's over for him"—this is another conspiracy theory being spread on American social media and repeated by Russian propagandists.

Since 21st July, Joe Biden decided not to seek re-election and endorsed Kamala Harris, new fake news about the American president has continued to appear online.

This time, it's about a document (Memorandum on the Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act), in which, on 22nd July, the president delegated his executive powers regarding the rebuilding of Ukraine to the Secretaries of the Treasury and State.

The publication of this memorandum triggered a flood of comments online. Among other things, it's being said that the sudden abdication of executive powers is not a good sign, as it indicates that the president is no longer in control, that he has been sidelined, or even, perhaps, that he is dead. Such claims are unfounded.

A presidential address is set for the evening of 24th July where he is expected to explain why he is not running for re-election. Meanwhile, the president signing the memorandum delegating the task of implementing the law passed by Congress, namely the REPO Act (which allows the US administration to confiscate billions of pounds worth of Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine for rebuilding), is a routine and regular practice.

According to Joshua Kennedy, a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Georgia Southern University, every American president decides to delegate his powers hundreds of times.

Kennedy explained to the #FaeHunter service that there are plenty of presidential orders and memoranda delegating powers to US government officials. It's a routine action and says absolutely nothing about the president not performing his duties. He emphasised Donald Trump also signed similar memoranda when he was president.

Conversely, Professor Philip J. Cooper from Portland State University, author of the book "By Order of the President," confirmed in an interview with the #FakeHunter service that there is nothing extraordinary about governing through delegating memoranda, and also reminded that the process of relinquishing power by the president is defined in the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution and the conditions for it to be invoked have not been met.

- If any of the cases described in the amendment (e.g., formal declaration by the President of his inability to fulfil duties) were met, the Constitution clearly states that presidential powers are exercised by the vice president as acting president. I'll repeat once more that this has not happened, and there is no reason to believe it will - explained Prof. Cooper.

According to data from the American government monitor (Federal Register), as of 21st July 2024, President Biden signed 195 presidential memoranda, delegating his specific powers to his cabinet officials.