House Republicans could greenlight an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden this week, even as some of their most vulnerable members acknowledge the investigation may not uncover any high crimes or misdemeanors — possibly putting them in a tough spot ahead of a crucial election cycle.
The House is set to vote on formalizing its impeachment inquiry into Biden on Wednesday, the latest step in the GOP’s monthslong investigation into the president over alleged influence peddling by members of his family. The vote will put lawmakers on the record for the first time on whether they support escalating the investigation, which could be politically risky for vulnerable Republicans running for reelection in districts Biden won in 2020.
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“The concerns are very real, and the evidence is stacked up to a level where I believe going forward in a formal impeachment inquiry is justified,” said Rep. John Duarte (R-CA), one of the 17 Republicans representing Biden-won districts. “We need the complete set of facts. And I am going to support the committee to get the complete set of facts.”
Several other vulnerable Republicans running in Biden-won districts said they would vote to advance the inquiry, noting the move is not the same as supporting impeachment itself. Rather, lawmakers argue formalizing the inquiry would simply give them more power to gather evidence, especially as the White House has used the lack of an impeachment vote as justification not to comply with some congressional requests.
“The president would do himself a great deal of justice complying with subpoenas,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) said. “It doesn’t seem that they are, so the most appropriate step for the House to assert oversight is to continue the inquiry.”
“It is constitutionally our responsibility,” he added.
The resolution marks the first time the House will vote on the impeachment inquiry after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unilaterally approved the investigation in September without holding a vote, shielding some of the most vulnerable GOP members from having to take a stance on the politically fraught matter.
However, newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is now looking to hold a vote to formalize those proceedings as a way to counter arguments from White House lawyers that the investigation lacks “constitutional legitimacy.”
“I think it’s needed if the president’s not providing information and he’s using the excuse: ‘We don’t have an impeachment inquiry formally voted on.’ That means we need to have one,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who said earlier this year that an impeachment inquiry would be premature.
However, Bacon acknowledged that although he would support opening an inquiry, he didn’t believe the investigation would uncover evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors — predicting it’s “more likely than not” that articles of impeachment won’t be drafted when the inquiry reaches its end.
“Frankly, my thought is, and I may be an outlier on this, I think it’s more important to have this information for the elections. Let the voters decide,” Bacon said. “I don’t know that you’re going to see a high crime or misdemeanor, but I think the voters deserve to know what did the Bidens do with $25 million. Where did it come in from? Where did it go? I think the voters should know what’s going on.”
The vote comes as 44% of voters across 17 GOP-held districts that voted for Biden say they’d be less likely to vote for a member of Congress who backed the impeachment inquiry compared to just 24% who said they’d be more likely to back them, according to independent polling conducted by Public Policy Polling that was first obtained by the Washington Examiner. Only 26% said it wouldn’t make a difference, while 6% were not sure.
Bacon said he didn’t believe a vote to open an inquiry would hurt those vulnerable Republicans but acknowledged “an impeachment is a different story.”
“With the information we have now, you wouldn’t get a single Democrat vote. It would just die in the Senate,” he said. “We’ve seen the history. … Whatever party pushes on impeachment loses seats. And so we’d be the minority if we do it with the current information we have. You got to have high crimes and misdemeanors. We should do it right, play this by the book.”
Democrats have repeatedly pushed back on Republicans’ impeachment efforts, arguing investigators have not been able to uncover any evidence that implicates the president in any crime. Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-MA) specifically cited Bacon’s comments to argue against the inquiry, claiming it as evidence Republicans lack a smoking gun.
“I guess the question is when are people going to stand up to this extreme political stunt?” he said. “This is not the beginning of something. This should be the end of something. You’ve been doing this for over a year, and there’s nothing there. There’s no smoke. This is a colossal waste of time.”
Other Republicans noted that opening an inquiry does not equate with voting to impeach the president, pushing back against claims that the vote was just a formality before introducing charges against Biden.
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“We have enough information and testimony and evidence right now to continue the process of the inquiry. So anyone calling that a slippery slope is not understanding the process at all,” Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) said. “Due process is open to all possibilities depending on what the evidence and testimony bring forward.”
The House will vote on the impeachment inquiry just one day before lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn for the holidays, with no plans to return until next year. The vote could prove to be a major leadership test for Johnson because he can only afford to lose three GOP votes if all members are present. At least one Republican, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), has repeatedly said he’s leaning against the inquiry, with several others who say they remain undecided.
