Republican lawmakers from the United States House of Representatives joined forces to authorize a vote for an impeachment against President Joe Biden.
The development comes as GOP officials have yet to find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing conducted by Biden. The Republican-led chamber voted 221-212 along party lines to approve the inquiry. It would examine whether or not the president improperly benefited from his 53-year-old son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings.
House Authorizes Vote To Impeach Biden
The decision to authorize the impeachment attempt came hours after Hunter refused a call to testify behind closed doors. On the other hand, the White House dismissed the inquiry as unsubstantiated by facts and was simply politically motivated.
The Democratic president is preparing for a potential 2024 election rematch against his Republican rival Donald Trump. The latter is the first president in the history of the US to be impeached twice and is currently getting ready for four upcoming criminal trials, as per Reuters.
The impeachment effort will most likely fail to remove the president from office. Even if the possibility exists that the House votes to impeach Biden, the Senate would then have to vote to convict him on the charges by a two-thirds vote. This is considered nearly impossible in a chamber that Democrats hold a majority in.
However, the attempt could still help Republican lawmakers highlight their allegations of corruption through much of the 2024 campaign. The vote also comes three months after GOP officials informally began the probe and is not a required step to remove a president or other official from office.
The vote does give Republicans more legal authority to force the president's administration to cooperate. It could help to counter accusations that the left claims about the impeachment inquiry, which lacks legitimacy.
In a statement ahead of the vote, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said they are at a pivotal moment in their investigation. According to Fox News, the Kentucky officials added that they will soon depose and interview several members of the Biden family and their associates regarding the influence-peddling schemes.
Allegations of Corruption
The Republican lawmaker said that the White House is trying to block key testimony from current and former White House staff. He noted that they were also withholding thousands of records from Biden's time as vice president of the United States.
Comer claimed that the president must be held accountable for his alleged lies, corruption, and obstruction. He said they must provide the accountability and transparency Americans demand and deserve.
The investigation into Biden's alleged misconduct focuses on accusations that Biden leveraged his office of the vice president during the Obama administration to enrich his family through foreign businesses.
In a statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was not a guaranteed effort despite the vote to authorize the impeachment vote against Biden. He noted that they are simply following the law, noting that they are the rule of law team and that he would be holding on to that fact, said CNN.
