WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – As Democrats in Congress huddle over the future of President Joe Biden's candidacy, Republicans are watching.
"You would say, from a political standpoint, that we would be enjoying this. But we're not. I'm not enjoying this," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said.
Speaker Johnson says his party is concerned about the president's ability to serve in the Oval Office.
"It is not a good circumstance for us to have a commander-in-chief who is not on his A-game," Johnson said.
Johnson says he opposes legislative efforts calling for the removal of the President using the 25th Amendment. He says that would need to come from the Vice President and Cabinet.
GOP lawmakers are, however, trying to interview the White House doctor who says the president is fit to serve.
"We have a lot of questions for the doctor," Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said.
Kentucky Congressman James Comer has asked Dr. Kevin O'Connor to testify. O'Connor wrote in a February assessment, and repeated in a memo Monday, that his exam of the president did not find any neurological disorders.
"Because I don't think what you read in that letter is what the American people see, a president in tip top physical and mental shape," Comer said.
George Washington University Legislative Affairs Program Assistant Professor Casey Burgat says it serves Republicans to keep the concerns top of mind.
"There's a famous saying in politics that if your opponent is drowning, you don't throw him a lifeline," Burgat said.
He says it's ultimately up to President Biden to convince voters he's up for another term, and every appearance matters.
"It's going to be a really tough hill to climb," Burgat said.