Ranking Member Raskin Demands White House Physician Immediately Evaluate Donald Trump’s Cognitive Fitness Amid Bipartisan Alarm, Calls to Invoke 25th Amendment

Washington, D.C. (April 10, 2026)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to White House Physician Captain Sean Barbabella demanding an immediate and comprehensive cognitive and neurological evaluation of President Donald Trump, along with full public disclosure of the findings. The request follows a series of increasingly volatile, incoherent, and alarming public statements by the President regarding the ongoing conflict with Iran, which have raised urgent concerns about his mental fitness across the political spectrum.

“At a time when our country is at war—especially when the war was initiated by the President without Congressional declaration or consent—the American people must be able to trust that the Commander-in-Chief has the mental capacity to discharge the essential duties of his office. I therefore request that you conduct a comprehensive cognitive assessment of President Donald Trump, provide those results to Congress, and make yourself available to brief Congress on your findings,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.

On Easter Sunday, the 79-year-old President began the day with a profane and threatening social media post directed at Iran, invoking mass destruction in erratic and inflammatory language. The following day, at the White House Easter Egg Roll, the President delivered a disjointed and graphic account of military operations—including bombing missions and hostage rescues—to an audience of young children, before visibly struggling with the physical demands of the event.

The next day, the President escalated his rhetoric further, posting: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” The statement—widely interpreted as a threat of catastrophic military action and war crimes—prompted immediate condemnation from legal experts and international observers, who warned that such remarks reflect a profound breakdown in judgment.

Even several of the President’s longtime allies and supporters have publicly denounced his conduct and raised questions about his fitness for office, with some explicitly calling for the Cabinet to initiate proceedings under the 25th Amendment.

“This is plainly out of the realm of normal politics. When the President of the United States threatens to extinguish a civilization on social media, rants about combat missions with children at the Easter Egg Roll, and drops profane tirades on Easter morning, we have indisputably entered the realm of profound medical difficulty and concern,” continued Ranking Member Raskin.

Congressional Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, have themselves established the principle that presidential cognitive fitness is a matter of national security and a legitimate subject of congressional oversight—including by subpoenaing the White House Physician under President Biden.

In upholding this precedent, Ranking Member Raskin is demanding that Captain Barbabella promptly conduct a comprehensive cognitive and neurological evaluation of President Donald Trump, publicly release the results, provide a detailed report to Congress and brief Members on the findings.

Click here to read the letter.