WASHINGTON −Former President Joe Biden's Cabinet members described how access to the oldest person to ever serve in the office "dropped off considerably in 2024," according to a new book about the president's decline during his final year in office. "I don't think he has dementia," one Cabinet secretary said, according to the book "Original Sin" by Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios. "But the thing is, he's an old man. The president can give you four to six good hours a day. When he got tired, sloppy isn't the right word, but his guard was down." Another Cabinet secretary said instead of briefing Biden, the secretary would brief senior White House aides who passed along word to the the president. "Access dropped off considerably in 2024, and I didn't interact with him as much," the Cabinet secretary said. The book released May 20 revealed a trove of revelations about how Biden's inner circle of White House aides limited the hours of the day that he worked, the length of speeches he gave and even the access members of his Cabinet had with him. The release came a few days after the revelation that Biden, 82, has beendiagnosed with an aggressive formof prostate cancer, one that has metastasized to the bone. The book doesn't mention cancer. The ailment spurred widespread sympathy for the oldest person to ever serve as president. But it has also reinforced questions about his initial decision to run for reelection despite signs of physical frailty and the reality of advanced age. "Why didn't the American people have a better sense of his health picture?" Vice PresidentJD Vanceasked reporters May 19 as he returned from Rome. "Why didn't the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with? This is serious stuff." The book also comes days after apartial release of the recording of Biden's interviewwithspecial counsel Robert Hur,who investigated why classified documents were found at his home and private office. The Justice Department had released a transcript of the interview a year ago, but Republicans have pressed for the release of the audio recording for a better understanding of Biden's mental ability at the time. Hur decided not to prosecute Biden because jurors would have viewed him as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." At some times on the recordingreleased by Axios on May 16, Biden speaks almost at a whisper and has long pauses between words as he answers questions. He struggles to recall key dates, such as the year when his eldest son Beau Biden died. A ticking clock in the background emphasized the time Biden spent answering. Biden and his wife Jill rebuffed criticism that he waited too long to drop out of the 2024 campaign through public appearances before the book's release. Biden waspeppered with several questions on ABC's "The View"about his decision-making in the final months of his term, his relationship with major party leaders and if he takes responsibility for Trump's decisive victory in November. "I do, because look, I was in charge and he won," Biden said of 2020. "So I take responsibility." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Biden book 'Original Sin' reveals frailties as oldest serving president
