Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) kicked Washington into high gear on Tuesday by announcing the House will begin an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, tasking three committee chairs with differing styles to lead the investigation.
Per McCarthy, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) will lead the inquiry in coordination with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO).
In the bombshell announcement from the Capitol, McCarthy claimed, “House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct. Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.”
Watch the video here:
I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct—a culture of corruption. https://t.co/3uoDlUB3Sy
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 12, 2023
The three committee chairmen charged with McCarthy to lead the inquiry have different styles and temperaments that McCarthy will count on to complement one another in making their case to the American people — and perhaps a few of their colleagues — as the long-anticipated inquiry takes center stage. However, in directing the inquiry, McCarthy has only promised to go where the evidence takes him.
Comer, a genteel Kentuckian whose panel possesses broad oversight responsibility of the federal government, took the top spot in the committee in mid-2020 after Mark Meadows’ departure from Congress to serve as President Trump’s chief of staff. Although taking over the committee without a reputation as a publicity hound, Comer has been a dogged, effective messenger taking the Biden administration to task and investigating COVID’s origins.
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on February 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Comer is perhaps the House Republican most associated with calls for more information on Hunter Biden’s business dealings and Joe Biden’s involvement. On Tuesday, Comer demanded Secretary of State Antony Blinken provide information on then-Vice President Joe Biden’s abrupt policy shift against a prosecutor who investigated Burisma Holdings. Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, paid Hunter Biden $83,000 a month despite little to no prior work in the energy sector.
Jordan, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus with a reputation as a thorn in speakers’ sides, has transitioned into a loyal McCarthy ally, often serving as a bridge between leadership and the block of conservatives. As McCarthy’s top attack dog, Jordan also leads the House Republicans’ panel investigating the weaponization of the federal government, and has earned the scorn of Democrat colleagues for his aggressive tactics.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, during a hearing in Washington, DC, on July 26, 2023. The hearing is titled “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.” (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
An attorney intimately familiar with the impeachment process, Jordan has used his position on the Judiciary panel to defend former President Trump against what he calls overzealous and politically motivated prosecutors, accusing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of “interfering with a federal election.”
“We’ll follow the facts, the constitution, and the law. Speaker McCarthy is right to launch this impeachment inquiry,’ Jordan tweeted after McCarthy’s announcement.
Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), top Republican on the House Budget Committee, comments to reporters as Congress preps for its first votes on the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 24, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Perhaps the least-known of the trio, Jason Smith is in his first Congress as chairman after pulling what many Hill insiders considered an upset in a contentious battle against the more senior Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Adrian Smith (R-NE). In his sixth term and only 43-years-old, Smith is the youngest ever to hold the gavel of the powerful tax-writing body, the oldest committee in the House with broad jurisdiction over tariffs and trade, Social Security, and Medicare.
A staple on the House floor, Smith served atop the House Budget Committee last Congress and built a reputation as both a policy wonk and impassioned messenger against Democrats’ tax and spending schemes. His style contrasts with previous leaders of Ways and Means, a collegial body not known for housing firebrands. With a Democrat Senate and White House, Smith has turned his attention to aggressive oversight of the Biden administration, calling Biden’s use of fake names and companies “quite disturbing.” His panel’s expertise on the Treasury Department is expected to be a valuable asset in the House’s inquiry.
Breitbart News will have more on this developing story.
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