Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) cautioned House Republicans not to pursue an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, which he sees as “unlikely to be successful in the Senate,” while House Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) indicated he was not keen on an impeachment investigation being tied to negotiations around government funding.
Cornyn and Thune, two of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) top deputies, made the comments to the Hill in an article published ahead of McCarthy’s announcement Tuesday morning that House Republicans are opening a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden.
Cornyn, who was formerly the GOP whip from 2013-2019, told the Hill that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is unlikely to move on a potential impeachment recommendation from the House and said investigations into Biden and his family could continue without the lower chamber taking such action.
“Since they got the majority, they got the chairmen of the various committees, they could do all of that now without going to a formal inquiry,” Cornyn told the Hill. “Members of the House don’t really care what I think. All I can tell you, it’s unlikely to be successful in the Senate.”
“Rather than doing something they know is unlikely to end the way they would like, maybe they want to emphasize other things,” he added.
While Thune did not advocate against an impeachment inquiry, he indicated he would be opposed to one being tied to talks around government funding as a shutdown looms with funding set to expire on September 30.
“Well, obviously they can launch [a formal inquiry] there without tying it to government funding. Hopefully they can work all that out, how they want to handle those issues in the House,” Thune said.
During Tuesday’s leadership press conference, McConnell told reporters that he doesn’t “have any advice to give to the House” regarding the inquiry.
One leadership member who was vocal in backing McCarthy’s move is Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who chairs the Senate Republican Conference. He told Punch Bowl News Tuesday he supported the House’s effort to “untangle this web of corruption that we’ve seen coming out of this administration and specifically the Biden family.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), an establishment Republican like Cornyn and McConnell, also contended to the Hill that House Republicans had not yet put forth an explanation to Americans as to why an impeachment inquiry is needed. But McCarthy made his case Tuesday morning and seemed to alleviate some of Romney’s worries.
“The fact that the White House has been singularly silent and coddled Hunter Biden suggests an inquiry is not inappropriate,” Romney told reporters.