The GOP-led House has approved a Republican resolution to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden with a party line vote of 221-212.
All GOP representatives voted to formalize the inquiry, including Rep. Ken Buck who previously said he was leaning against it.
Part of the reason for Wednesday’s vote comes from the White House telling the trio of GOP-led congressional committees leading the investigation that its subpoenas were illegitimate without a formal House vote to authorize the inquiry, reluctant, more moderate Republican lawmakers started to get on board with their party’s investigative efforts.
The vote comes as the president’s son Hunter Biden defied Republican investigator’s subpoena for closed-door testimony and reiterated that he is willing to testify publicly as part of the GOP-led investigation into the president.
But even as the majority of House Republicans rally around the inquiry vote, GOP leadership has made a point to indicate that formalizing the inquiry does not mean impeaching the president is inevitable, even as pressure within the party and among the Republican base grows.
“We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of this because we can’t,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “It’s not a political calculation. We’re following the law and we are the rule of law team and I’m going to hold to that.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, echoed Johnson’s sentiment by telling reporters, “Voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment.”
More on the inquiry: Since former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched the inquiry in September, a trio of committees leading the investigation have interviewed various officials from the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service while also obtaining a mountain of documents and new bank records, including from Biden family members.
Even as Republicans issue new subpoenas and schedule more depositions, including with the president’s brother and son, they still have not uncovered credible evidence that backs up their loftiest claims against Biden. There has only been one hearing related to the inquiry since its launch, where the expert witnesses called by Republicans acknowledged GOP investigators hadn’t yet presented enough evidence to prove the accusations they were leveling.
