Jill Biden’s Top Aide Called the ‘Worst Person’ by Fellow Staff

In the latest bombshell exposé shaking up D.C., a new book paints a troubling picture of the Biden White House—one dominated not by the president, but by an unelected inner circle fiercely loyal to the First Lady. At the center of it all is Anthony Bernal, Jill Biden’s top aide, who is now being called “the worst person” some staffers had ever encountered.

The book, Original Sin by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, reveals a West Wing riddled with paranoia, backroom power plays, and what one source dubbed a “loyalty cult” driven by the First Lady’s right-hand man.

That was the question Bernal was infamous for asking in closed-door meetings, according to the authors. Staffers say he ran an unofficial inquisition inside the White House, vetting coworkers’ devotion to the Biden name, not the Constitution. “He turned loyalty into a weapon,” one longtime aide reportedly told the authors. “He was the loyalty police.”

But Bernal wasn’t acting alone. He and Annie Tomasini, another fiercely loyal Biden insider, became part of the couple’s inner quarantine “pod” during the 2020 pandemic. That unusual arrangement, the book claims, allowed unelected staffers to effectively sideline more seasoned political operatives and centralize power around the Biden family—not the presidency.

Tapper and Thompson assert that First Lady Jill Biden was not only one of the strongest voices urging President Biden to run again in 2024, but also one of the loudest denying any concerns about his declining cognitive ability—even after his disastrous debate performance in the summer of that year.

“She was determined to push forward, no matter what,” the authors write, noting that she and Bernal kept “scorecards” on which aides were “with them or against them.” Bernal, for his part, had already begun planning the First Lady’s international travel schedule for 2025—a full year before the election was even decided.

One particularly eyebrow-raising detail: Bernal and Tomasini reportedly had full-time access to the White House residential quarters. Their badges even read “Res,” an unprecedented perk for non-family staffers. Critics inside the administration saw it as yet another sign that the Biden White House prioritized personal loyalty over professional competence.

“They weren’t just aides. They were enforcers,” an anonymous source told the authors. “And if you questioned the narrative, you were out.”

The book also alleges that Bernal obsessively controlled Jill Biden’s public persona, frequently commenting on her outfits and image. According to Tapper and Thompson, he referred to the First Lady simply as “Jill,” a break from traditional protocol that underscored just how close—and how powerful—he had become.

The revelations from Original Sin come as President Biden continues to face mounting scrutiny about who is really running the show. Guy Benson, a Fox News contributor, summed it up on air: “Biden’s closest advisers knew he wasn’t up for the job. But they didn’t just let it happen—they enabled it.”

Indeed, while top Democratic donors and strategists whispered concerns about Biden’s mental sharpness, the First Lady and her circle reportedly doubled down. “You don’t run for four years,” Bernal allegedly snapped at one adviser who questioned Biden’s re-election viability. “You run for eight.”

Despite the damning claims, not everyone agrees. A former staffer, in a statement to Fox News Digital, dismissed the book as a hit job. “Anthony was a strong leader with high standards and a mentor to many,” the staffer said. “He’s the type of person you want on a team—strategic, effective, and deeply caring.”

Still, critics see a pattern of insiders protecting the Bidens at all costs—even at the expense of the presidency itself.

With President Biden’s mental acuity under a magnifying glass and 2024’s political scars still fresh, Original Sin peels back the curtain on a White House many feared but few dared to describe. For Republicans, it’s a confirmation of what they’ve suspected all along: Joe Biden may have held the title, but others held the reins.

Stay tuned. If the First Lady’s inner circle was this powerful behind the scenes, imagine who’s pulling the strings now.