Biden Autopen Scandal: 52% Want Prosecutions

Most voters suspect that members of Joe Biden’s administration improperly used the autopen to usurp presidential authority, and support criminal prosecution for aides implicated in the scandal.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters consider it likely that, when Biden was president, members of his White House staff used the autopen to sign documents without Biden’s knowledge or approval, including 40% who think it’s Very Likely. Thirty-three percent (33%) don’t believe it’s likely Biden staffers used the autopen without the president’s permission, including 18% who say it’s Not At All Likely. Another 12% are not sure. These findings have changed only slightly since our March survey. (see survey question wording, click here.) 

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report which concluded that “as President Biden’s [mental and physical] condition deteriorated, his aides exercised presidential authority and facilitated executive actions without his direct authorization, including misusing the autopen and failing to properly document decision-making processes.” Fifty-two percent (52%) of voters believe that Biden’s aides should be criminally prosecuted for unauthorized actions during his administration. Thirty-two percent (32%) disagree and 17% are not sure.

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The survey of 1,157 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on October 28-30, 2025 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Among voters who think it’s Very Likely that members of Biden’s White House staff used the autopen to sign documents without the president’s knowledge or approval, 88% believe those aides should be criminally prosecuted.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans believe it’s at least somewhat likely that, when Biden was president, members of his White House staff used the autopen to sign documents without Biden’s knowledge or approval, as do 38% of Democrats and 49% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of Republicans, 36% of Democrats and 44% of unaffiliated voters say that Biden’s aides should be criminally prosecuted for unauthorized actions during his administration.
More men (60%) than women voters (50%) believe Biden’s staff used the autopen without presidential approval and, by a 12-point margin, more men (58%) than women voters (46%) favor prosecution for aides who engaged in unauthorized action during the Biden administration.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of whites, 44% of black voters, 58% of Hispanics and 57% of other minorities consider it at least somewhat likely that members of Biden’s White House staff used the autopen to sign documents without the president’s knowledge or approval. Hispanics are most likely to favor criminal prosecution for aides implicated in the autopen scandal.

Voters in their 40s are most likely to suspect that Biden’s staff used the autopen without presidential approval, while those under 30 are most in favor of criminal prosecution in the scandal.

Among those who voted for Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election, 78% want Biden’s aides to be criminally prosecuted for unauthorized actions during his administration, while a majority (53%) of Kamala Harris are against such prosecutions.

Trump earned a monthly job approval of 48% in October, down one point from September. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapproved of his job performance last month, up one point from September.

Violent crime continues to be a major concern for voters, who trust Republicans more than Democrats by a nine-point margin on the issue.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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