Scoop: Top Biden aide was promised $8 million for 2024 win
Why it matters: Donilon's testimony shows he had a financial incentive for Biden to run for re-election even as the majority of voters expressed doubts about the president's ability to do the job another four years.
Driving the news: Donilon's $4 million salary was first reported in the book "Original Sin," but the potential $4 million bonus was previously unknown.
He was the latest Biden aide to be interviewed in the Republican House Oversight Committee's probe of Biden's fitness for office.
Donilon told investigators that "every president ages over the four years of a presidency and President Biden did as well, but he also continued to grow stronger and wiser as a leader as a result of being tested by some of the most difficult challenges any president has ever faced," according to a copy of his opening statement obtained by Axios.
"I thought that experience was enormously valuable for the nation," he added.
Donilon also said he believed that the party over-reacted to Biden's debate performance, according to the person familiar with his testimony.
Zoom in: Donilon left the White House for Biden's re-election campaign in early 2024, but insisted on the multi-million dollar deal, according to "Original Sin."
By comparison, campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon made $300,000 and went to the campaign at the same time.
Between the lines: Many Biden aides and Democrats across Washington have resented Donilon's high salary and questioned his navigation of Biden's failed re-election effort.
Donilon had worked with Biden since the early 1980's and he and his family members were closely intertwined with the workings of the Biden White House.
Some former Biden aides believe that Donilon's self-interest and his affection for Biden led the party into a political disaster.
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