House Republicans Launch Formal Impeachment Inquiry into President Biden, Announces Kevin McCarthy

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, has officially declared that the House will initiate a formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. This move marks an escalation of the ongoing Republican investigation into President Biden’s alleged involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings.

Leading the impeachment inquiry will be the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees, following several months of Republican scrutiny into the President’s activities.

McCarthy made the announcement during a news conference, stating, “Today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public.”

Crucially, McCarthy’s decision implies that the House will proceed with the impeachment inquiry without the need for a formal vote on the House floor. Given the slender four-seat majority held by Republicans in the House, it remains uncertain whether an inquiry vote would secure the necessary 218 votes.

Some moderate Republican lawmakers have expressed hesitance about rushing into the impeachment process, emphasizing the need for substantial evidence. Representative Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, explained in an interview last month, “I wholeheartedly embrace investigating and seeing if there was wrongdoing, and there sure is a lot of smoke. I just don’t know if there’s a lot of fire when it comes to Joe Biden himself.”

House Republicans have persistently alleged, without presenting significant evidence, that President Biden financially profited from his son’s international business engagements. McCarthy has previously advocated for an impeachment inquiry as a means of affording House Republicans greater oversight authority over the President.

Responding to the development, Ian Sams, special assistant to President Biden, stated, “House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. His own Republican members have said so. He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment; now he flip-flopped because he doesn’t have support. This is extreme politics at its worst.”

Kevin McCarthy’s decision to pursue an impeachment inquiry occurs in the midst of efforts to garner support from hard-line conservative members of his caucus to ensure the government’s funding, including investigations into the Bidens, extends beyond the September 30 deadline. With an impeachment inquiry now initiated, uncertainty looms over whether lawmakers will have adequate time to reach a funding agreement.

Sams remarked, “Opening impeachment despite zero evidence of wrongdoing by POTUS is simply red meat for the extreme right-wing so they can keep baselessly attacking him.”

McCarthy has encountered resistance and calls for his removal from some Republican House members who remain aggrieved by his negotiation with President Biden to prevent a debt default. These conservative lawmakers had been advocating for an impeachment inquiry long before McCarthy ordered the investigation.