In a bold move to curb what many critics see as a troubling abuse of executive power, Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) has introduced a new bill aimed at ending the controversial use of autopen devices for signing important presidential documents.
The bill, titled the “Ban on Inkless Directives and Executive Notarizations Act of 2025” or the BIDEN Act, would ensure that only the sitting president himself could sign engrossed bills, executive orders, pardons, and commutations, cutting off the ability for staffers or automated devices to act on the president’s behalf.
The proposed law is a direct challenge to the precedent set by former President Joe Biden, who has faced growing criticism for his extensive use of an autopen, an automated device that replicates the signature of the POTUS.
According to McDowell, this practice undermines the authority of the office and raises questions about who is really making decisions in the Oval Office.
Under the BIDEN Act, the law would be amended to explicitly state that no one other than the president can lawfully sign bills, executive orders, or pardons, and the use of automatic signing devices like the autopen would be banned.
The bill also specifies that any document signed using