By José Niño
The real power in Joe Biden’s White House rested not with the president alone, but with a trusted inner circle that managed his every move and decision, revelations from a new book suggest.
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Original Sin, co-authored by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios national correspondent Alex Thompson, alleges that a small, loyal group within Biden’s inner circle—dubbed the “Politburo”—effectively ran the White House as Biden’s health and cognitive abilities declined.
This group included longtime advisors Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Bruce Reed, and Ron Klain, as well as family members like First Lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden, according to a report by the New York Post.
The authors describe this “Politburo” as a tight-knit decision-making body, often acting as the final authority on major issues. They limited access to Biden, managed his public appearances, and shielded him from both the Cabinet and many White House staffers. According to the book, this inner circle often dismissed or minimized concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity, treating them as political vulnerabilities rather than real limitations.
Biden’s longtime confidant and senior advisor Donilon was seen as the most influential figure, fiercely protective of Biden and instrumental in campaign strategy. He reportedly received a $4 million salary for his 2024 campaign work and was so trusted by Biden that aides joked he could get Biden to do almost anything.
As counselor to the president, Ricchetti played a key role in legislative negotiations and political messaging. He sometimes intervened directly with the media to push back against stories about Biden’s health and was described as emotionally invested in Biden’s presidency.
Viewed as the most powerful domestic policy consigliere during the Biden administration, Reed prepared Biden for major events and debates in his capacity as deputy chief of staff for policy.
Biden’s first chief of staff, Ron Klain, remained influential even after leaving the White House in early 2023. Biden was said to defer to Klain’s judgment, viewing him as one of the smartest people in the administration.
Then there was Jill Biden, who played the role of protector throughout her husband’s term. She devised efforts to shield Joe from public scrutiny and staff missteps, while Hunter Biden was influential in encouraging his father to stay in the 2024 race.
Both played significant roles in directing Biden’s decision-making.
The dominance of the “Politburo” led to what some insiders described as an unprecedented concentration of power, with one source saying, “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.” Cabinet members and other officials were often excluded from major decisions, including those on economic policy.
The book also details how the “Politburo” placed friends and family in key administration roles. Donilon’s niece joined the National Security Council, Reed’s daughter became Biden’s day scheduler, and Ricchetti’s children found government jobs. Such favoritism has raised questions about the Biden administration’s purported commitment to honest, transparent governance.
While the authors stress that President Biden retained some of his mental abilities and was aware of the isolation imposed on him by his advisors, they document frequent moments of confusion and incoherence. Still, the “Politburo” and many public allies continued to publicly defend his capabilities and clamp down on internal dissent from those who voiced concern for the president’s disintegrating mental acumen.
The authors paint a picture of a presidency marked by denial and insularity, with a small group prioritizing loyalty to Biden over transparency or the broader interests of the nation. No doubt they also reveled in their own increase in power. It was they, afterall, who were running the country.
The book’s release has sparked debate, with some Biden allies rejecting its characterizations, but the authors argue that the evidence they gathered consistently contradicted official White House narratives. Conservatives, on the other hand, are ridiculing Tapper, in particular, for having his “revelatory epiphany” four years after even casual watchers of the presidency realized Biden was slipping quickly into incompetence.
In summary, Original Sin supports the belief that, as Biden’s abilities deteriorated, a select group of inner-circle advisors and family members took control of the White House, tightly managing information, access, and decision-making, while working to keep the reality of Biden’s obvious mental and physical decline from the public—and even from many powerful people inside his own administration.
Whether one sees the “Politburo” as protectors of the presidency or unbridled power brokers, their role in Biden’s presidency is now part of the historical record and will be debated by historians for decades to come.
