Senate Republicans walked away from a briefing on the nascent impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden receptive to what the House finds next, even as some harbor concerns that Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) decision to open the inquiry unilaterally will undermine its credibility.

Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), two of the three committee chairmen who will oversee the inquiry, attended a weekly lunch hosted by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who leads the conservative Senate Steering Committee.

SCHUMER AI FORUM DRAWS IRE OF BIG TECH FOES IN THE SENATE

The Wednesday meeting did not cover much new ground, according to the senators who attended, but it did provide them an opportunity to get up to date on where the investigation stands and what House Republicans see as its next steps.

David Sivak/Washington Examiner

The Senate would not be involved in the decision to impeach, should Republicans take that step, but it would play the role of “jury” in deciding whether to convict Biden on allegations he engaged in corruption during his time as vice president.

Senate Republicans left the briefing, which started off with an informal presentation followed by a question and answer session, satisfied that the investigation was worth pursuing, despite grumblings that it would distract from the fight over government funding that is already consuming Washington.

“They’re trying to follow the facts and see where they lead, and they got, you know, lots of questions that need to be answered,” said Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. “There’s enough smoke there that I think there are legitimate questions that they need to get answers to.”

But the lunch also served to underscore the concerns of some senators that the inquiry will blow back on Republicans. McCarthy opened it on Tuesday without a floor vote, breaking his earlier promise to hold one, leading some to voice reservations that it could be more easily dismissed as a partisan exercise without it.

“Some people referenced it — that it’d be nice to have one,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND).

“I think most of us would be of the opinion that it would be better if they can have a vote that affirms the inquiry,” he added. “And I can’t predict what Kevin will do, but I would think that he’d be thinking that way.”

McCarthy justified his decision by noting that ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) opened the 2019 impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump without one. The House passed a resolution formalizing the inquiry the following month.

McCarthy’s inquiry, a formal step that comes after months of legwork by the trio of House committees probing the Biden family’s business dealings, will give Republicans additional investigative powers as they build the case that Joe Biden himself was involved in the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden, who is alleged to have used the Biden “brand” to enrich himself.

The investigation has so far received testimony that the senior Biden was present on phone calls with Hunter Biden’s associates, but also that the president never discussed business with them.

In the meeting, senators emphasized the importance of finding a direct link to Biden if House Republicans want the charges to be credible, though they voiced confidence in the process Comer and Jordan laid out.

“It makes me feel like they’ve got the right structure in place, and it has to take the time it takes to do a hell of a lot better job than the Democrats ever do,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), an adviser to leadership, told the Washington Examiner.

House Republicans have received thousands of records from the subpoenas issued in relation to Hunter Biden’s associates, but the impeachment inquiry opens the door for Comer to subpoena the Biden family directly. That subpoena will likely be met with a court challenge, but Comer has said previously the groundwork his committee has laid will help Republicans prevail.

Comer, who chairs the Oversight Committee, declined to put a timeline on the inquiry, saying it would be guided by what they uncover. The prospect of it dragging into next year could make it a factor in the presidential election.

“Considering we find new information out almost on a weekly basis, it’s hard to put a timeline on it right now. Obviously, we’re moving as quickly as we can, and we’re optimistic that the impeachment inquiry will help us move faster moving forward,” he said.

As to the meeting with Senate Republicans, he described it as “informative” and “substantive.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“I think we got some good advice from the senators today, and there were a lot of good questions and a lot of good back and forth,” he said. “And we feel motivated to continue and move forward in the same direction.”

Most rank-and-file Republicans attended the lunch, as did most of the leadership, including Sens. Thune, John Barrasso (R-WY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Steve Daines (R-MT).