House Republicans to launch Biden impeachment inquiry

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that the House GOP would open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, pushing ahead with a plan that could eventually lead to Biden’s removal from office but has raised concerns with even some fellow Republican lawmakers.

McCarthy, speaking from the U.S. Capitol, said the public deserved answers about the president’s conduct and the actions of his family, including son Hunter Biden, that he alleged showed a culture of corruption.

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

In a statement, a White House spokesman decried McCarthy’s decision, saying House Republicans had investigated the president for nine months and have “turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.”

“His own GOP members have said so,” said Ian Sams, a White House spokesman, on X. “He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment, now he flip flopped because he doesn’t have support. Extreme politics at its worst.”

The plan to open a formal impeachment inquiry has drawn pushback from other Republicans lawmakers, including Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who said that evidence linking Biden to any wrongdoing “doesn’t exist.”

“I do not make this decision lightly,” said McCarthy, a congressman from California. “Regardless of your party or who you voted for, these facts should concern all Americans.”

Republicans, led by GOP Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and James Comer of Kentucky, have investigated whether Biden is compromised by foreign business dealings arranged by his son, Hunter, and his brother,

The full House would ultimately have to vote on whether to impeach Biden, a decision that, if successful, would send the case to the Senate. Two-thirds of senators would need to vote in favor of convicting the president to remove him from office, an unlikely feat in a legislative body controlled by Democrats.

McClatchyDC reporter David Catanese contributed to this article

This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 11:39 AM.