White House Cabinet officials rally around Biden despite backlash over his wife taking control of meeting

Biden Cabinet members praised the president for his "exceptionally effective" leadership and believe he is still fit for office after he handed over the reins of a Cabinet meeting to his wife, Jill Biden, just days ago.

Among the 10 Cabinet officials who sent Fox News Digital statements, there was a general agreement of confidence in Biden's leadership and his ability to continue serving out his term as president.

"President Biden continues to be an exceptionally effective president, and his focus on delivering results—like record job creation, major infrastructure development, and increased domestic manufacturing—is something he demonstrates every time we interact," Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told Fox News Digital. 

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The last time President Biden held a Cabinet meeting was in October 2023. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo went a step further and called Biden "one of the most accomplished presidents in American history and continues to effectively lead our country with a steady hand."

"As someone who is actually in the room when the President meets with the cabinet and foreign leaders, I can tell you he is an incisive and extraordinary leader," Raimondo said.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra – one of Biden's staunch defenders – said Biden "has done more as president for this country than any other president whom I have worked with since 1992."

"So yes, not only can he do the job, but he has been doing it," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "And we are fortunate to have someone who continues to use all of his experience to take us further. If you recall where we were four years ago, the depth of a pandemic, Americans losing their jobs, Americans losing their health care. Today, more Americans are employed than ever before. Today, more Americans have health coverage than ever before. No President in the history of this country has ever placed 700 million vaccines in the arms of Americans to keep them alive and keep them healthy. The result? Our economy is healthy."

"Is he fit? He's proving it," Becerra added. 

Biden's apparent declining mental acuity first made headlines during the summer before his poor debate performance against former President Trump. Less than a month after the June debate, Biden faced pressure from his Democratic base to drop out of the race and allow VP Kamala Harris to run as the party's candidate. 

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Biden's Cabinet members rushed to his defense. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"Throughout President Biden’s term, Americans have benefited from his leadership and experience. He led a productive Cabinet meeting on Friday and clearly laid out his expectations for the months ahead," Adrianne Todman, acting secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told Fox News Digital.

"President Biden charged us with not only continuing to get the historic levels of funding he secured out the door, but ensuring that those funds are being put to work to help the American people. I look forward to continuing to work with the President, and the entire Administration, to expand affordable housing for all," she said. 

Biden convened his Cabinet on Friday for the first time since Oct. 2, 2023 – this time with the first lady joining him to speak about the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. 

The president explained Jill Biden’s presence there, saying, "Here and across previous administrations, first ladies have attended these meetings for specific reasons. This is the first time Jill has joined us, and it goes to show how important the issue is, which she is about to speak to." 

The New York Post reported that Jill Biden, seated at the head of the Cabinet Room’s board table, "read from a binder about maternal health initiatives for four-and-a-half minutes after her husband spoke for just two minutes off the top of the meeting." 

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First lady Jill Biden speaks while attending her first Cabinet meeting at the White House on Sept. 20, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The president traditionally sits at the center of the table with Cabinet members seated in order of the founding of their departments. The last sitting first lady to attend her husband's Cabinet meeting appears to be Hillary Clinton.

The amount of influence the first lady has over Joe Biden, and therefore his administration, has been a frequent source of controversy, and numerous commentators took to social media to criticize her presence at the meeting.

The New York Post said Jill Biden is "considered by insiders to be the most influential first lady since Edith Wilson, who tightly controlled access to her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, after he suffered a debilitating stroke in October 1919." 

Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.