The Republican Party, the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, officially introduced a resolution on the 7th (local time) to approve an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. A House vote is expected next week. The White House immediately condemned it as a "baseless stunt."
According to NBC News and others, the resolution, led by Representative Kelly Armstrong, formalizes the impeachment inquiry currently underway in three House committees: Judiciary, Oversight, and Ways and Means. If the resolution passes the House floor, these committees will gain greater authority, including the power to issue subpoenas and hold public hearings in the investigation of President Biden's family.
The vote is expected to take place next week. The resolution will be referred to the House Rules Committee for review on the 12th. NBC News reported that this suggests the earliest possible vote would be on the 13th, the last legislative day of this year's House session. Previously, in September, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy directed the three committees to conduct the impeachment inquiry into President Biden's family without a full House vote, but little progress has been made since.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, expressed confidence that the resolution will pass. He stated this week that the White House's obstruction of the Republican impeachment inquiry has made the vote a constitutionally necessary step. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and also a Republican, said he is confident the party will secure enough votes to officially approve the impeachment inquiry next week. Currently, the House seats are divided with Republicans holding 221 seats and Democrats 213 seats.
ABC News reported that "even moderate Republican impeachment skeptics representing districts that voted for President Biden in 2020 are stepping forward to support this resolution." Previously, Representative Don Bacon, who had said he would not vote for the impeachment inquiry resolution, changed his stance, saying, "You have to vote to get subpoena information."
Currently, Republicans are raising allegations that Hunter Biden, President Biden's second son during his vice presidency, received improper benefits from a Ukrainian energy company and a Chinese private equity fund. They also claim to have obtained documents showing the establishment of more than 20 paper companies as part of efforts to conceal these activities.
The White House immediately pushed back. Ian Sams, White House Deputy Press Secretary for Oversight, criticized in a statement, "This baseless stunt is not rooted in facts or reality but in the brazen desire of extremist House Republicans to abuse power to smear President Biden." Democratic House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the move, saying, "We will waste time next week on an illegal impeachment inquiry."
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