House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently hinted at the possibility of an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, sparking mixed reactions within the Senate Republican caucus.
McCarthy (R-CA) suggested earlier this week that information emerging from House investigations into the Biden family could warrant an impeachment inquiry.
“All this information people are finding out now is only because Republicans have investigated,” McCarthy told Fox News, adding, “I’m explaining to everybody that if we don’t get the information, I will go to impeachment inquiry to make sure we get all the answers.”
As reported in The Dallas Express, House GOP investigations into Biden and his son, Hunter, have centered around the family’s finances. Hunter agreed to a plea deal for failing to pay income taxes for several years, although that is currently on hold.
While arguing that an impeachment inquiry could furnish the tools necessary to investigate more effectively, McCarthy emphasized that his comments were not an official impeachment inquiry announcement, according to the Washington Examiner.
After a GOP meeting on July 25, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) dispelled any notion that a potential Biden impeachment might be on the horizon, saying, “It’s not on the radar screen over here,” according to the newspaper.
Quipping that impeachment attempts are “getting to be a habit around here,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said that while the House revelations about Biden’s family are “very disturbing,” “the Senate doesn’t have any role,” according to the Washington Examiner.
While these comments throw cold water on the idea of presidential impeachment, there has been strong pressure from some Republican voters to impeach either Biden or another official from his administration, according to Politico.
Former President Donald Trump faced two impeachment attempts while in office. He was impeached in the House and acquitted in the Senate.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who voted to convict Trump during both impeachment trials, said Tuesday that the allegations against Biden and his family had not yet reached the threshold for impeachment proceedings, according to the Washington Examiner.
“I certainly hope that’s not going to confront us again,” Romney added.
This hesitation has been less apparent in the House, where Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) launched separate impeachment attempts targeting Biden and FBI Director Christopher Wray in June, as covered in The Dallas Express.
The attempt to launch proceedings against Biden was soon referred back to GOP-led committees after a unanimous vote by Republican House representatives.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) criticized the impeachment attempts seen in recent years.
“Given the quality of the evidence, I do think that the House [Democrats] cheapened the impeachment process,” Kennedy said, according to the Washington Examiner. “Now, there are some people on my side of the aisle who operate under the premise that two wrongs don’t make a right, but they do make it even. And I don’t subscribe to that.”
“This is America. Our institutions matter,” Kennedy concluded.