Center-right Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., advised his party not to go down that road before House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unilaterally opened an impeachment investigation, saying it was “too early” given the paucity of evidence against Vice President Joe Biden.
Bacon, who represents a district in Omaha that voted for Biden in 2020, changed his tone two days after McCarthy made that choice last week and said he didn’t disagree with it.
Bacon said to NBC News, “If there’s a high crime or misdemeanor, well, let’s get the facts,” adding that he had been “hesitant” about it in the past, but now it’s done and he supports McCarthy, R-Calif.
“I don’t believe it’s healthy or beneficial for our nation. I therefore intended to raise the bar. I want to go cautiously. I want to approach it seriously and carefully,” Bacon added. But it was already done. We will thus wait till the facts are known.
His comments reflect a trend: although many House Republicans opposed taking that historic step, there was no public opposition to McCarthy’s decision to move on with the impeachment process. The leadership team is giving in to pressure from far-right lawmakers to make moves that could have a negative political impact on these more moderate members and jeopardize their chances of winning competitive districts. The softening of positions is the latest example of swing-district & center-right Republicans sticking by their leadership team.
Bacon made it clear that he and others would defend McCarthy if those same far-right senators tried to have McCarthy removed for not complying with their demands on other matters, like spending. About 200 of us, possibly more, will remain beside the speaker, according to Bacon.
Democrats will run for the 18 Republican House seats in areas that Biden won in 2024 in an effort to take back the House of Representatives. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., the man in charge of defending the GOP majority, declared he supports the investigation but hasn’t seen enough proof to really impeach the president.
In an interview, Hudson, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, stated, “I’ve seen enough that we need to keep asking questions.” “However, I believe that all we need to do is keep looking and talking about what we’ve discovered. Let’s stick to the facts, then. Let’s inform the American people that the president is innocent if the evidence supports it.
GOP sees “smoke” with Biden but “no fire”
Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, chair of the center-right Republican Governance Group, was another opponent of an impeachment investigation and stated last month that he had not seen any “facts” to support such a move.
However, after McCarthy approved the investigation, Joyce had no issues.
In a statement, he said, “I support Speaker McCarthy’s decision to ask the House Committees on Oversight, Judiciary, as well as Ways and Means to open an official impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” and that he is “confident” the committee leaders in charge “will conduct thoughtful along with thorough investigations into allegations in opposition to the President, which I will carefully review.”
Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) are two more members of the “Biden 18” Republican crossover districts who oppose impeachment inquiries. Attempts to reach their offices for comment on whether they concur with McCarthy’s decision to open the investigation were unsuccessful.
Notably, some Republicans in areas where Biden won the election favored opening an impeachment investigation. This includes Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican from California, who stated that the House must “seek truth and to seek accountability” in regard to investigating as-yet-unproven connections to the president due to the overseas business activities and offenses of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
“Isn’t there smoke there? In order to determine whether there is indeed a fire there, we must go investigate, he said.
McCarthy initiated the investigation on his own, avoiding a House vote since it was doubtful he would have enough support from his razor-thin Republican majority with Democrats opposed. Garcia, though, claimed he would have voted “yes” to open such an investigation.
Garcia declared, “I would have voted for it.” “That is a major fallacy. There seems to be a widespread belief that residents of swing states don’t value transparency and accountability. That’s not the situation.
But he said that, ultimately, “if it’s not substantiated, we should oppose” moving through with articles of impeachment.
Rep. Young Kim, a Republican from California who represents a seat in Orange County, did not protest to McCarthy’s impeachment investigation despite her attempts to preserve her distance. In a statement released on Monday afternoon by her office, Kim highlighted that it “allows the relevant committees,” on which she emphasized she did not serve, to “get more information on serious allegations.”
Kim stated, “We’ve seen impeachment be rushed & politicized, so this will make sure we instead follow the evidence and are transparent to the American people,” adding that she will be “monitoring” the investigation while working to “deliver results for my constituents.”
The Hudson Valley district’s representative, Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican from New York, said he supports the investigation but has other priorities.
After McCarthy started the investigation, Molinaro stated that it was Congress’ proper duty to be the administration’s check and balance when there were doubts or irregularities. “I didn’t come here to impeach anyone, but it is the duty of Congress to exercise the proper oversight,” the speaker said.
However, if articles of impeachment are not filed soon after the House’s impeachment investigation started, far-right Republicans will undoubtedly rebel. Despite the House having yet to present any proof that Biden has engaged in corruption or the abuse of his position, many of them are already preparing to remove him from office. The GOP base would think they were clearing Biden if they failed to impeach, in their opinion.
The day after Joe Biden’s inauguration as president, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced articles of impeachment against him over a different matter. “The American people support the impeachment of Joe Biden as well as an investigation of the entire family along with every person who covered it up,” she said on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. “Democrats must be held responsible,”