WATCH: McCarthy Urges Impeachment Inquiry on Biden

House Speaker Calls for Impeachment Inquiry into ⁤President Biden

“I‌ am ⁣directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday. “We will go⁣ where‍ the evidence takes‍ us.”

Republicans, who currently hold a narrow majority​ in the House, have accused President‍ Biden of benefiting financially from his son Hunter Biden’s ⁢foreign business ventures during his time as‌ vice president ​from 2009 to 2017.

Many members of ⁣McCarthy’s party ⁤were ‌outraged⁣ when the Democratic-controlled ‌House impeached⁢ former President Donald Trump twice in 2019 and 2021, despite his‌ subsequent acquittal in ⁤the Senate. Some Republican lawmakers have even threatened​ to remove McCarthy as ​House leader if​ he does not pursue impeachment⁤ against Biden.

President Biden, who defeated Trump in ‍the 2020⁢ election, is currently running for⁣ reelection next year.

Gathering Evidence of Possible Financial Misconduct

McCarthy stated that lawmakers ​from‌ various ‍committees will begin collecting‌ evidence related to potential financial⁣ misconduct.

The White House has dismissed the ⁤need for an investigation, and President Biden has ridiculed Republicans for considering impeachment.

Democrats argue⁣ that Republican calls for impeachment are merely‌ an attempt to divert⁢ attention‌ from Trump’s legal troubles. Trump currently ‍faces four separate criminal indictments while seeking his party’s nomination ‍for the 2024 ‌U.S. election against ⁤Biden.

Several staunch Republicans have ⁢vowed not to support crucial spending bills unless McCarthy authorizes an impeachment inquiry.

The Impeachment Process and ⁢Unlikely ​Success

According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the​ power⁢ to impeach federal‍ officials, including the president, for offenses such as treason, bribery, and “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” To⁢ remove a president‍ from office, the House must approve articles ‍of impeachment by a simple majority, and the‌ Senate must vote by a two-thirds majority to convict after conducting a trial.

However, any attempt to impeach President Biden is unlikely to succeed. Even if the Republican-controlled House votes in⁢ favor of impeachment, which is⁤ uncertain given their narrow 222-212 vote margin, it would almost certainly fail in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Former President ⁣Trump remains the‌ only U.S. president to have been impeached twice. In his first impeachment in 2019, he was charged with abuse of power and​ obstruction⁢ of Congress for soliciting Ukraine to⁣ investigate Biden ⁣and his son based on unverified corruption allegations.⁣ The second⁢ impeachment in 2021 accused him of inciting an‍ insurrection following the attack ​on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

The first impeachment aimed ‌to remove Trump from office, while the second, ⁢held after he left office, sought to disqualify him from holding ⁢the presidency again.

As‌ he has done with⁣ previous investigations,⁤ Trump dismissed both impeachments as politically motivated witch hunts.

In July, President​ Biden sarcastically responded to Republican lawmakers threatening⁤ to impeach him, saying, “Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me ‌for now that inflation is coming down. Maybe they’ll decide to impeach me because it’s coming ⁤down. I don’t know. I’d love that one.”

(Reporting ‌by Richard Cowan, ‌Makini Brice, and David Morgan; writing by Andy⁢ Sullivan; editing by​ Will Dunham and Scott Malone)