The GOP-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to authorize its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, NBC News reported.
The 221-212 vote was along party lines.
“The impeachment power resides solely with the House of Representatives. If a majority of the House now says we’re in an official impeachment inquiry as part of our constitutional duty to do oversight, that carries weight. That’s going to help us get these witnesses in,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), one of the leaders of the impeachment push, told reporters after the vote.
“We do not take this responsibility lightly and will not prejudge the investigation’s outcome,” Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team said in a joint statement after the vote. “But the evidentiary record is impossible to ignore.”
Before the vote, Johnson called it “the next necessary step” and acknowledged there are “a lot of people who are frustrated this hasn’t moved faster.“
The impeachment inquiry is tied to the dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, as Republicans have questioned his father’s connections to his financial affairs.
Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was the first to announce that House Republicans would launch an impeachment inquiry against President Biden over “allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption" in his involvement with the foreign business dealings of his son.
Wednesday’s vote took place less than a week after Hunter Biden was charged with nine counts, including failure to file and pay taxes; evasion of assessment; and false or fraudulent tax return.
Hunter Biden was charged in September with three counts related to lying on a federal form to acquire a Colt Cobra handgun in 2018 and for being an illegal drug user in possession of the gun.
Several weeks later, he pleaded not guilty to three federal crimes related to his purchase of a revolver at a Delaware gun shop in 2018. It was the first-ever prosecution by the Justice Department of the child of a sitting president.
President Biden responded to Wednesday’s vote in a lengthy statement in which accused the Republicans of failing to help him in assisting Israel, Ukraine and the American people.
“There is a lot of work to be done. But after wasting weeks trying to find a new Speaker of the House and having to expel their own members, Republicans in Congress are leaving for a month without doing anything to address these pressing challenges,” he said.
“I wake up every day focused on the issues facing the American people – real issues that impact their lives, and the strength and security of our country and the world. Unfortunately, House Republicans are not joining me. Instead of doing anything to help make Americans’ lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies. Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts,” added Biden.
“The American people deserve better. I know what I am going to remain focused on. I would invite Republicans in Congress to join me,” he concluded.