Donald Trump announced that he “canceled” all documents signed with an autopen during the administration of Joe Biden. This sparked a reaction and discussions about the legal basis of this decision and the practice of using autopens by presidents.
Trump claims that “in this way, every document signed by sleepy Joe Biden with an autopen, which is approximately 92% of all of them, is canceled. And declared null and void.”
This move marks an escalation of Trump's attacks against Biden on the issue of using the autopen. Trump often accuses Biden of senility and lack of control over the White House.
The accusations are challenged from a legal point of view. Previous presidents have also used autopens. Conservative legal commentator Ed Whelan points out that Trump has the right to revoke executive orders, but not “everything else” (bills passed by Congress, and pardons).
The U.S. Department of Justice stated in 2005 that the president is not required to sign everything in person and can authorize an official to affix a presidential signature. The practice of using autopens is not new - Barack Obama also signed documents in this way.
In his final days in office, Biden pardoned people that Trump had targeted, which is likely one of the reasons for the new attacks.