If you thought U.S. House Republicans would use their new majority to focus on inflation and other economic issues, that’s not how things are playing out on Capitol Hill so far.
Instead, much of the GOP agenda still centers around defending Donald Trump, attacking Joe Biden and maybe being remembered as the Impeachment Congress.
Egged on by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, Republicans have already filed a dozen different impeachment resolutions in the U.S. House, targeting President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the FBI director, the secretary of Homeland Security, the U.S. attorney general and even a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C.
“We have uncovered so much information that will lead to his impeachment,” declared Greene, who triumphantly talks about how she filed charges against Biden on his first day in office.
While it’s not clear whether the GOP will produce anything other than partisan bluster, the scope of these impeachment threats is unparalleled. Only one Cabinet member has ever been impeached — the Secretary of War in 1867. No vice president or federal prosecutor has ever been impeached.
It’s one thing to talk about impeachment — it’s another to follow through with a full investigation and hearings, and the GOP still hasn’t decided what road to take.
Some Republicans want to impeach President Biden over his handling of illegal immigration along the border with Mexico.
“It’s past time we hold the president accountable for his dereliction of duty,” said U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens.
Others want to focus on the investigation into the president’s son, Hunter Biden, as two IRS whistleblowers claim top officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland may have meddled with the probe.
“If the whistleblowers’ allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry,” U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said.
While calling for multiple impeachments in this administration, there is also a developing GOP push — led by Greene — to formally erase the twin impeachments approved by the House against former President Donald Trump.
“I think it’s appropriate,” McCarthy told reporters about Greene’s bid to expunge the Trump impeachments, though the effort has not yet attracted widespread support.
The White House this week ridiculed the GOP impeachment drive.
“What is their agenda to actually help people?” said spokesman Ian Sams.
Talking to Republicans in the hallways of the Capitol, you can tell a lot of GOP lawmakers are not yet sold on the idea of impeaching a series of Cabinet members, let alone President Biden.
But 2024 campaign politics — especially involving Donald Trump — could easily change those dynamics.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C. since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com
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