The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday evening to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The Republican resolution passed on a party line vote of 221-212. Earlier in the day, Hunter Biden defied the House Oversight Committee's subpoena to testify behind closed doors, pushing lawmakers to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.
The Hill continues:
The resolution makes official an inquiry into Biden that has been underway for months, after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in September said that various GOP probes into the president would be under the umbrella of impeachment — but did not hold an official vote.
Republicans have said they moved to formalize the inquiry in part because the White House responded to document requests last month with a letter that argued their inquiry was unconstitutional due to the lack of a vote, citing a Trump-era legal opinion.
“We're very pleased with the vote today. I think that's it a message loud and clear to the White House. We expect you to comply,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading one of the arms of the probe, said after the vote.
President Biden ripped House Republicans for what he called a “baseless political stunt.”
After the vote, the president released a statement, saying in part: “I wake up every day focused on the issues facing the American people – real issues that impact their lives, and the strength and security of our country and the world. Unfortunately, House Republicans are not joining me.”
On the Senate side, some Republicans remain skeptical of the investigation's most salacious allegations. If the House votes to approve articles of impeachment against Biden, it will be imperative to win over the following holdouts:
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who stated that no evidence had been found of wrongdoing by President Biden himself. However, he added that if such evidence is uncovered, it would be critical and important. “But we haven't seen that yet,” he added.
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the chamber's GOP leadership, said,”I don't see any evidence there” before conceding that “The House is going to do what the House is going to do. I don't have any influence.”
- Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) argued that Republicans have not learned from the Democrats' strategic mistakes in their first impeachment of former President Donald Trump. According to Rounds, the Senate did not have sufficient evidence to convict Trump during the impeachment trial. Democrats “were trying to develop it in the trial.” Rounds emphasized that House Republicans must provide clear and incontrovertible evidence of impeachable offenses before bringing a trial before the Senate. If they fail to do so, their actions will be deemed as “crying wolf.”
The inquiry is investigating the finances of the Biden family, treatment of Hunter Biden by the Justice Department and Hunter's alleged influence-peddling scheme.
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