Not a single House Republican on Wednesday voted against formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
While Representative Ken Buck signaled that he might be the only GOP lawmaker to oppose authorizing the probe, he ultimately voted in favor of launching one against the Democratic president. Republicans had argued a formal inquiry would allow them to better enforce subpoenas to the White House as part of their investigation into Biden’s purported involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
House Republicans could afford to lose only three votes, given their slim majority in the chamber and the recent expulsion of former Representative George Santos. The Republican-controlled lower chamber approved the impeachment inquiry along party lines, with a vote of 221-212. One Democrat did not vote.
Buck, who is not running for reelection next year, had been outspoken against the GOP-led resolution. Over the weekend, the Colorado Republican told CNN, “This is not the way to run a Congress. This is not the way to run a House. We should not be engaging in retribution politics, in retribution impeachments.”
GOP Representative Ken Buck casts a vote at the U.S. Capitol on October 18. Buck, who previously showed signs of opposition, on Wednesday voted in favor of formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
So far, the GOP probes into Biden have failed to produce any evidence of wrongdoing. Several Biden-district Republicans have admitted as much but voted in favor of formalizing the inquiry, saying they view it differently from actual impeachment.
During the House Rules Committee’s Tuesday hearing on the impeachment inquiry vote, Representative Don Bacon told reporters he doesn’t believe there’s evidence that the president committed high crimes or misdemeanors—the bar set for impeachment. Even so, Bacon voted in favor of the measure on Wednesday.
“Currently, there is no vote for impeachment. Only an inquiry,” Bacon’s communications director, Danielle Jensen, previously told Newsweek. “He is voting for the inquiry because the administration has been stonewalling in the last couple of weeks, saying a formal impeachment inquiry has not been voted on.”
“We now need the impeachment inquiry to compel the administration to provide information because Americans deserve to have it before next November,” Jensen said.
Bacon, who represents an Omaha, Nebraska-based district that voted for Biden in 2020, is among several politically vulnerable Republicans who changed their positions on an impeachment inquiry. Others are Representatives Mike Garcia, Marc Molinaro and Anthony D’Esposito.
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