This is a strange way to hold impeachment hearings, particularly after all the facts on Biden’s crimes
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made clear to Breitbart News on Friday that if House Republicans move forward with an impeachment inquiry into Democrat President Joe Biden, the move would come not as an announcement from him or anyone else, but from a formal vote on the floor of the House.
“To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes. The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives,” McCarthy told Breitbart News. “That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person.”
Doing so would require a majority—at least 218 votes, assuming the House is at full attendance for such a vote—of members of the House to vote for such a move. While opening a formal impeachment inquiry is not a vote to impeach the president, it is a massive escalation by the lower chamber of Congress towards doing so—and it would also provide the House with extraordinary new investigative and law enforcement powers in terms of compelling testimony, enforcing subpoenas, and digging into Biden’s behavior and the culture of corruption surrounding the president.
I suspect McCarthy is expecting one of two things, based on his insider information: there are enough Republicans to open the impeachment inquiry, or there aren’t. The GOP controls the House with 222 members. They could only afford to lose 4, because you know there will be zero Democrats voting for an impeachment hearing. McCarthy is either trying to force the squishes to pony up and vote to open the impeachment inquiry, or, knows that the GOP won’t get there, and this way the issue is done. Over. Dead. The question now is “which way does McCarthy want to go?”
McCarthy’s statement here is significant in multiple respects. First, the speaker has been taking steps towards building up to an impeachment inquiry in the fall—previewing such a move before and during the August recess in interviews and public remarks. Continued revelations through a variety of avenues—from the House Oversight Committee and House Judiciary Committee to federal courts, including, especially, the collapsed plea agreement between the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and the Justice Department and more—have also increased the likelihood of the House moving in such a direction. This latest statement from the speaker makes clear that an impeachment inquiry is on his mind and that the House is seriously considering such a move.
Well, let’s hope so. Biden is beyond shady, and was selling access to foreign citizens and companies. Will the GOP have the cajones to do Politics? If the situation was reversed, Democrats would already have held two or three impeachment hearings and final votes.
Read: McCarthy Plans To Hold Floor Vote On Impeachment Hearing »