Republicans‘ uphill climb of impeaching President Joe Biden got a little steeper following Rep. Ken Buck‘s (R-CO) early retirement announcement, with his departure presenting the House GOP with significant math problems.
Buck will leave Congress on March 22, handing Republicans just a two-seat majority over Democrats, likely posing a problem for the divided GOP conference. A lawmaker told Axios in February that there are already “easily 40-50” Republicans who are likely to vote against the impeachment.
However, despite facing a math problem in Republican ranks and a lack of evidence in the impeachment investigation, GOP lawmakers are seeking to push the inquiry forward by continuing to gather details ahead of the 2024 election. They also plan to continue Hunter Biden hearings, believing the key to the president’s impeachment lies in his son’s wrongdoings, which could lead to criminal referrals as opposed to voting to remove Joe Biden from office.
Top Republicans on the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees have led the investigation into the president and his family’s “alleged criminal scheme” involving foreign business dealings. However, there is little indication at this stage that the inquiry will lead to a vote to impeach the president, as there has been scarce evidence proving that Joe Biden profited from the business pursuits of his son or his brother, James Biden.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the information uncovered during the inquiry “alarming” during a press conference at the House GOP retreat at Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia but admitted that he has not done a “deep dive in the evidence.”
Along with Buck’s retirement, there are several other roadblocks that could force Republicans to backtrack on the impeachment inquiry. Republicans defending districts Biden carried in 2022 are in the most vulnerable spot with the impeachment vote.
Given the Republicans’ low number of significant laws passed this term, coupled with party infighting and a chaotic speaker’s race, Republicans cannot afford any more mistakes that will make their uphill battle to maintain the majority in 2024 any harder.
Still, some hard-line Republicans are still in favor of pushing the inquiry forward, with Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) telling the Washington Examiner he does not believe Buck’s retirement will have any impact on the impeachment inquiry.
“There is a large and growing body of evidence that President Biden may have been involved in illegal activity,” Van Orden said. “I am not on the committee of jurisdiction but fully support the continuation of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.”
Concerns that the inquiry has dragged on for too long are also growing. Johnson addressed those concerns Wednesday, arguing the monthslong process is “the way it’s supposed to work.”
“This is how it’s supposed to look. Not what the Democrats did against Donald Trump with their snap impeachments where they reach conclusions before they began their so-called investigations,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “We’re doing the opposite, and that’s why it’s drug out as it is.”
Some Republicans are confident the inquiry will happen eventually, but the outcome of the 2024 election this November could have an impact on when and how it moves forward.
When asked if he thought the impeachment inquiry would happen at this point, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said on Monday, “I don’t know.”
“I mean, we’re in an election year, and so you know, in November, the people will speak,” Roy, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters on Monday. “I think we have a duty to try to get all the facts out on all of these issues so the American people know them as part of the process and kind of work through to get it out there and expose the truth, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Throughout their investigation, House Republicans have been focusing on Hunter Biden, whose business dealings have taken center stage in the inquiry, as well as furthering the GOP’s argument that a two-tiered justice system exists. The younger son sat for a closed-door deposition in late February, during which he denied his father was involved in his foreign business ventures.
Democrats, as well as Hunter Biden and his counsel, have accused Republicans of being politically motivated in their impeachment investigations. Following the deposition, House Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said the first son’s testimony “debunked and demolished” the “hopeless” inquiry.
However, Republicans are still pushing an investigation into the president’s connection to his son’s business, regardless of where they think the inquiry is going.
“We’re asking questions about these corrupt business practices,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said on the day of the first son’s testimony. “I’m not really thinking that through the lens of next steps.”
If an impeachment inquiry is not in the cards, there are other avenues that House Republicans can take. Last month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said the investigation could result in referrals to the Justice Department or impeachment articles that have nothing to do with the alleged family scheme.
“I know we’ll be doing criminal referrals, but it looks like we could be doing Articles of Impeachment as well,” Greene said. “But don’t forget, that’s not the only reason why Joe Biden can be impeached. He can also be impeached for the border. He is also responsible for the border crisis.”
Looking ahead, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) are focusing on the open hearing on March 20, called “Influence Peddling: Examining Joe Biden’s Abuse of Public Office.” Hunter Biden and his counsel have repeatedly called for a public hearing, but lawyer Abbe Lowell sent a letter on Wednesday alerting Comer that the younger Biden would not be in attendance.
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“After that six-plus hour deposition on February 28, 2024, along with the realization that your inquiry was based on a patchwork of conspiracies spun by convicted liars and a charged Russian spy, I thought even you would recognize your baseless impeachment proceeding was dead,” Lowell wrote.
“Far from the ‘smoking guns’ you claim, the ‘evidence’ does not amount even to droplets from a water pistol,” Lowell added.