Speaker McCarthy, in tough spot, starts Biden impeachment inquiry

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday that he is directing Republicans to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, building on their investigations into his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals. 

Mr. McCarthy’s decision to move forward without a vote, which he had promised to hold, has been widely interpreted as an effort to placate members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus. He needs the support of the caucus to remain speaker and to preserve the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House. But his move could further complicate his ability to lead as the House enters a crunch period of budget negotiations, with the government set to run out of money on Sept. 30.

The previous two GOP speakers were also hamstrung by pressure from the right wing, with John Boehner forced to resign as a result. But Mr. McCarthy faces a new twist: The Freedom Caucus is not united on pursuing impeachment, with some seeing it as a distraction from getting the spending cuts they had promised their constituents. The speaker will need to tap every ounce of his renowned powers to persuade behind the scenes in order to navigate the next few weeks without a political disaster for the party – or his own career.

Why We Wrote This

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announced impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is widely seen as an effort to placate the right wing. But it could complicate budget negotiations as the government is set to run out of money on Sept. 30.

Back from their long summer break, House Republicans took their first concrete step toward impeaching President Biden on Tuesday – a step they say the GOP base is increasingly demanding.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, of California, announced today that he was directing three Republican committee chairs to launch an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden, which he said was “the next logical step” building on their investigations into his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals. 

“The American people deserve to know their public offices are not for sale and that the federal government is not being used to cover up the actions of a politically associated family,” Speaker McCarthy told reporters in a brief press conference this morning. 

Why We Wrote This

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announced impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is widely seen as an effort to placate the right wing. But it could complicate budget negotiations as the government is set to run out of money on Sept. 30.

Mr. McCarthy’s decision to move forward without a vote, which he had promised to hold, has been widely interpreted as an effort to placate members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus. He needs the support of the caucus to remain speaker and to preserve the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House. But his move could further complicate his ability to lead as the House enters a crunch period of budget negotiations, with the government set to run out of money on Sept. 30.

The previous two GOP speakers were also hamstrung by pressure from the right wing, with John Boehner forced to resign as a result. But Mr. McCarthy faces a new twist: The Freedom Caucus is not united on pursuing impeachment, with some seeing it as a distraction from getting the spending cuts they had promised their constituents. The speaker will need to tap every ounce of his renowned powers to persuade behind the scenes in order to navigate the next few weeks without a political disaster for the party – or his own career.

“This is a baby step following weeks of pressure from House conservatives to do more,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and Freedom Caucus member, on the House floor this afternoon. 

He called on Mr. McCarthy to subpoena Hunter Biden and members of the Biden family “who have been grifting off this country,” and to make good on the agreement the Californian made with the caucus in order to become speaker in January – including holding votes on term limits and a balanced budget. Otherwise, Congressman Gaetz threatened to bring a vote to remove Mr. McCarthy as speaker. 

But Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, another Freedom Caucus member, had cautioned against moving forward with an impeachment vote.

“We’re not going to get an impeachment through the Senate,” he said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, adding that Republicans need to stay focused on issues like inflation, crime, and the border. 

Facing pushback from within his party, on Tuesday he tweeted that Mr. McCarthy made the right decision not to take up House floor time with an impeachment vote and focus instead on spending, while letting the Oversight committee lead an inquiry.

Three House committees – Judiciary, Oversight, and Ways and Means – have been investigating Hunter Biden and his foreign business ties for months, but have yet to prove that his father profited from such deals. Mr. McCarthy argued that opening a formal inquiry would equip them with more investigatory powers. Under such an inquiry, committees will not have to prove a legislative justification for their requests and subpoenas.

GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, a veteran investigator of government wrongdoing who has helped lead the Senate charge to look into Hunter Biden, voiced support for the inquiry.

“I’m not telling the House what to do, but you know how much trouble I’ve had getting information,” he told a handful of reporters en route to a vote, noting that even the House GOP, which has subpoena power, has had trouble getting to the bottom of the issue. “So if the inquiry gets the information, it seems to me that I ought to applaud that effort.”

Mr. Gaetz and others pointed out that they have not yet fully used the powers at their disposal, including subpoenaing Hunter Biden and members of the Biden family.

The White House called the inquiry effort “extreme politics at its worst.”

“House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement. “His own Republican members have said so.”

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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