The US midterm elections are still a year away, President Joe Biden's administration and allies are already planning for a scenario in which Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives, Senate or both, and begin a series of investigations and impeachment proceedings against the president.
Lawmakers, legislative employees, and political strategists expect a wave of probes against the Biden administration, especially if Republicans sympathetic to former President Donald Trump take key committee seats in Congress.
Joe Biden faces another year of tumultuous presidency
House Republicans Matt Gaetz, who pledged in a podcast to target the Department of Justice until "sphincters tighten," Bob Gibbs, who has been pushing to impeach Biden since September over the Afghanistan pullout, and James Comer, a candidate for the House Oversight Committee, are among those seeking investigations.
The president's son Hunter Biden, the administration's handling of supply chain concerns and vaccination requirements, and the dismissal of Trump military academy nominees are among Comer's targets, according to his office. Small actions have already been made by the White House to protect the administration from hostile investigations.
It appointed former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as a special adviser to supervise the execution of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which Republicans are expected to probe for fraud. The White House also added a seasoned Democratic communications official to the legal counsel's office to assist deal with the impact of the tumultuous US troop departure from Afghanistan last year.
According to one team member, Biden's transition team built the White House counsel's office following his 2020 election victory in preparation for Republicans capturing the Senate and pursuing investigations. Georgia's runoff elections in January 2021 gave Democrats control of the legislature, but the attorney general's office retains its legal clout.
Jonathan Su, who handled investigations throughout the Obama White House years, was named Biden's deputy counsel as part of that strategy. According to strategists, the Biden White House may engage more researchers, attorneys, and communications staff to focus on the investigations, as per Reuters via MSN.
President Joe Biden campaigned on the promise of "shutting down" COVID-19, but in recent weeks, he has made moves toward recognizing that the virus will not be destroyed, repositioning himself to reduce damage in the midterm elections.
Vaccinations, masks, and caution continue to focus on White House and top administration health officials' messaging. However, Biden administration officials have taken steps to reassure the public about the omicron variant's low severity, support the reopening of schools, and accept that the virus's spread is unavoidable, according to the Washington Examiner.
In midterm elections, the incumbent president's party nearly usually loses seats, and Republicans just need one more senator and five more House members to win majority. According to FiveThirtyEight, the public's confidence in Biden's ability to navigate the country out of the crisis has dropped to a new low, with around 48 percent disapproving of his job so far.
Jill Biden on the healing role
Jill Biden, on the other hand, must have had a very busy year. During her husband's disastrous and disaster-filled first year in the White House, the first lady claims she took on a "healing role" while his administration and the country were hammered by the coronavirus epidemic, natural catastrophes, and a major disagreement over President Biden's leadership qualities.
Biden gave the interview in Las Vegas earlier this month, a day after she and her husband went on a tour of the devastation and consoled victims of a fire in Louisville, Colo., that destroyed over a thousand homes in late December.
In addition to Colorado, the first lady visited Waukesha, Wisconsin, in the aftermath of the Christmas parade tragedy in which a crazed driver drove into marchers, killing six people, and Kentucky, last week after a line of storms, ripped through five Southern states, killing more than 90 people. Biden described the trips as a "great example" of the duty she feels as first lady, as well as a means to bring comfort to Americans during a terrible time, New York Post reported.
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