On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans in the House are planning a vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden next week.
Speaker Mike Johnson says vote on impeachment inquiry ‘necessary’; vote could come next weekhttps://t.co/3HrQODFaUy pic.twitter.com/hA3vtst68N
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 4, 2023
According to Johnson, the plan is for the House to vote to authorize the inquiry next week, the last scheduled week in session before lawmakers leave for a holiday recess.
From The Hill:
“The House has no choice if it’s going to follow its constitutional responsibility to formally adopt an impeachment inquiry on the floor so that when the subpoenas are challenged in court, it will be at the apex of our constitutional authority,” Johnson said in a Tuesday press conference.
“House Democrats cheapened impeachment. They used it for partisan political purposes. They went after Donald Trump twice … What you’re seeing right now is exactly the opposite of that.”
— Speaker Mike Johnson on the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden pic.twitter.com/HOtc7sW5D3
— The Recount (@therecount) December 5, 2023
“This vote is not a vote to impeach President Biden. This is a vote to continue the inquiry of impeachment, and that’s a necessary constitutional step,” Johnson said.
The move to a formal vote comes months after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declared a swath of House GOP investigations to be an impeachment inquiry in September — a reverse of the stance he took during the first Trump-era impeachment when he said it needed to be kicked off with a formal vote.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday announced an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, working to appease far-right lawmakers who are irate over spending and threatening to depose him. https://t.co/f5zETfoX7w pic.twitter.com/kAJVKbhwUC
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 12, 2023
The White House has argued an impeachment inquiry without a vote is unconstitutional. Republicans have countered that stance even as they hope a formal vote will compel more testimony. The GOP and the White House have disagreed about the extent of the Biden administration’s compliance with requests.
“Constitutionally, it’s not required. Speaker said we’re an impeachment inquiry, we’re in an impeachment inquiry,” House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of the leaders of the probe, told reporters Monday. “But if you have a vote of the full House of Representatives and the majority say we’re in that official status as part of our overall oversight work or constitutional oversight duty that we have, it just helps us in court.”
Jim Jordan Reveals Potential Timeline For Bringing Impeachment Articles Against Bidenhttps://t.co/H6JO1vjxyH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 5, 2023
Republicans have held a series of informational sessions behind closed doors, pitching members on the need to shore up the legal standing of the GOP investigations by securing the backing of the House.
The move comes as the inquiry proceeds into a more difficult phase, where GOP leaders are bracing for potential court battles to secure additional records and testimony.
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