House Republicans Delay Biden Impeachment Push as Hard-Right Faction Demands Action

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In a bid to impeach President Joe Biden, House Republicans from the hard-right wing managed to force a vote on Thursday, which referred the matter to congressional committees. This move clearly demonstrates the challenge faced by Speaker Kevin McCarthy in controlling the majority party.

The unexpected ability of a single lawmaker in the 435-member House to initiate an impeachment resolution caught Republicans off guard, with many considering it a distraction from other pressing priorities.

The resolution accuses Biden of “high crimes and misdemeanors” in relation to his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Representative Lauren Boebert, supported by her allies, successfully employed House rules to trigger an immediate vote on this significant constitutional matter. The vote, which followed party lines at 219-208, referred the resolution to committees for potential consideration, similar to any other bill. However, the committees are under no obligation to take action.

Nevertheless, Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, argued during the debate that “The House is taking historic action.”

This episode highlights the influence exerted by the conservative flank of the House over McCarthy, necessitating his accommodation of their hard-right priorities if he wishes to retain power.

Conservatives are preparing for further actions. The method utilized by Boebert is the same approach employed by Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, to force a vote on Wednesday to censure Democratic Representative Adam Schiff for his investigations into Donald Trump’s connections with Russia.

“There’s going to be no end to this,” Schiff remarked.

“Kevin McCarthy has no control over his conference,” Schiff added. “The race to the extreme is now running the House of Representatives, and of course, it’s doing terrible damage to the institution.”

Throughout Thursday’s debate, Republicans were repeatedly cautioned by the presiding officer to moderate their statements.

Democrats argued that the case against Biden made a mockery of the seriousness of impeachment and was merely an attempt to divert attention from Trump, the former Republican president who had been impeached twice and was currently indicted for retaining classified documents under the Espionage Act.

“Today, they’re dishonoring this House and dishonoring themselves by bringing this ridiculous impeachment referral resolution to the floor,” stated Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee from Massachusetts, who suggested that Trump influenced his allies to pursue this course of action.

“This body has become a place where extreme, outlandish, and nonsensical issues are passionately debated, while important ones are not addressed at all,” McGovern added. “In short, the Republican Party is a joke.”

The vote concluded days of maneuvering by McCarthy, a Republican from California, to quell the uprising within his party over a roll call that many were hesitant to take.

A sudden vote to impeach Biden would have posed political difficulties for GOP lawmakers and could have resulted in an embarrassing spectacle for McCarthy, dividing his party. In a private meeting on Wednesday, McCarthy urged lawmakers to consider the traditional process for introducing consequential legislation. Boebert had used a privileged resolution to force the vote.

Ultimately, McCarthy reached an agreement with Boebert to send the Biden impeachment resolution for review by the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee, delaying an immediate vote.

“I think it’s best for everybody,” McCarthy stated.

However, conservatives insisted that more such votes would follow.

“We are just beginning,” affirmed Republican Representative Chip Roy from Texas, an influential member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Conservatives are lining up votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and censure Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the former chairman of the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. This is part of their broader effort to redirect control of the House away from traditional centers of power, including the speaker’s office.

“If the committees drag their feet, I will bring my resolution back to the floor every day for the rest of my time here in Congress,” declared Boebert, indicating her determination to force a House vote on Biden’s impeachment.

Rank-and-file Republicans expressed frustration at being compelled to vote on an impeachment resolution against Biden without going through the customary process of an impeachment inquiry. They resented a single lawmaker bypassing the established priorities.

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In a heated exchange witnessed on the House floor on Wednesday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia criticized Boebert for independently pursuing the impeachment of Biden. Greene herself has introduced her own articles of impeachment against the president.

Greene later confirmed the reported exchange and commented on Boebert, stating, “She has a great skill and talent for making most people here not like her.”

Boebert declined to comment on the conversation, only remarking that it was “not middle school.”

Trump was impeached twice, first on corruption and obstruction charges related to withholding military aid to Ukraine while seeking political information on Biden, and later on charges of inciting the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. On both occasions, Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

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Reporters Farnoush Amiri and Stephen Groves from Big Big News contributed to this report.

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• House Republicans force vote on Biden impeachment
• Speaker McCarthy faces challenge in controlling majority party
• Resolution accuses Biden of “high crimes and misdemeanors”
• Conservatives plan more impeachment actions
• Democrats criticize impeachment push as a distraction
• Rank-and-file Republicans express frustration over the vote