[Update: 09/12/2023 12:09 p.m.]: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is reportedly planning to tell Republicans he supports launching an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Punchbowl News reported Tuesday the top House Republican “plans to tell House Republicans in a closed meeting this week that launching an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is the ‘logical next step’ in the GOP’s probes of the president and his son, Hunter Biden.”
“McCarthy and the House Republican leadership scheduled a closed-door session for Thursday morning so that members could get an update on the investigations led by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Oversight Committee Chair Jamie Comer (R-Ky.),” it added.
The outlet also explained McCarthy “plans to say that the two chairs have uncovered enough information that necessitates the House formalizing the impeachment inquiry in order to obtain the Bidens’ bank records and other documents.”
Despite the speaker’s reported plan, it is unclear if there will be 218 Republicans to support launching the inquiry.
Still, conservative House members have been increasing pressure on McCarthy to launch an impeachment proceeding by threatening to oust him from the position if he obstructed their efforts.
The news comes months after he reportedly pushed back on the idea of impeaching Biden behind closed doors.
But in July, McCarthy told Fox News that Republicans’ investigation of Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, was “rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry.”
He previously insisted to reporters an impeachment inquiry would not necessarily lead to an impeachment vote.
Instead, he spoke of launching the proceeding as a tool to give lawmakers more authority to get documents and other information in their investigation into the Bidens.
In anticipation of the Republicans’ move, the White House created a war room featuring two dozen lawyers, legislative aides, and communications staffers to respond to an impeachment inquiry.
A White House staffer told NBC News that Republicans have “no evidence whatsoever” for their allegations against Biden.
