House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) on Wednesday dismissed Republican discussions about opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, calling the conversations a “complete distraction.”
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during an interview Monday night said GOP-led investigations into Biden’s family are “rising to the level of impeachment inquiry,” then told reporters Tuesday that actions he sees “could rise to an impeachment inquiry.” He did not, however, launch such a probe.
The comments, nonetheless, have sparked a conversation about whether lawmakers should begin an impeachment inquiry into Biden, which is prompting pushback from Democrats.
“This is just a complete distraction, and Speaker McCarthy knows it,” Aguilar told reporters in the Capitol when asked for his reaction to Republicans now targeting Biden, after previously floating impeaching other administration officials.
“In the absence of talking about important policies that reduce cost for everyday Americans, this is what we’re left with,” he continued. “There’s no there there, but that’s not going to stop House Republicans from advocating things that they feel are harmful politically for the president.”
Republican-led committees in the House for months have been investigating Biden and his family’s business activities, with a particular focus on Hunter Biden, the president’s son. Last week, a House panel heard testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who allege that prosecutors slow-walked an investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax crimes.
Also last week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) released an FBI document of unverified claims of corruption connected to Hunter Biden’s work with Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
McCarthy on Tuesday said committees of jurisdiction will continue to investigate, but if the government denies lawmakers information they are requesting, “That would rise to an impeachment inquiry.”
The conversation about an impeachment inquiry involving Biden comes after Republicans have been at odds over who their first target for impeachment should be.
Lawmakers previously floated impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the situation at the southern border and Attorney General Merrick Garland, citing testimony from the IRS whistleblowers.
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), the chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, on Wednesday called attention to the wide net Republicans have cast when it comes to possible impeachments.
“The American people understand that this is a political sideshow, these are political games,” he said. “I mean look, House Republicans three months ago, four months ago, were talking about impeaching the Homeland secretary, then they talked about impeaching the attorney general, now apparently talk of an impeachment inquiry with respect to the president.”
“Apparently, the extreme MAGA Republican wing of the House Republican caucus would like to impeach every single federal official if they could, and I think the American people would far prefer that the Congress focus on real priorities and real issues that are impacting their daily lives. And certainly we will continue to do that. It would be the prudent course of House Republicans to do the same,” he added.