WASHINGTON – The removal of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker on Tuesday introduced new uncertainty into the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, as allies and enemies of the deposed Californian traded blame for his ouster.
The shakeup threatens to undermine the near-term legal standing of the investigation into Biden’s role in his family’s overseas businesses, as Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) serves as acting spokesman indefinitely.
However, proceedings could be accelerated if Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wins his bid for the gavel.
A source close to Jordan told The Post that the investigation will move “full speed” if he becomes president, although he faces competition from Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and potentially other contenders who have less focus. on Biden’s corruption. accusations.
Meanwhile, a second source told The Post, staff in the House speaker’s office have “discussed the fact that Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry’s unprecedented position as acting speaker could open every one of his decisions to the legal scrutiny, meaning the House institution could face litigation. .”
McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced the impeachment inquiry on Sept. 12 and delegated the work to the tax-focused Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy was removed as Speaker of the House of Representatives after a vote on October 3, 2023. Branden Camp/ZUMA Press Wire McCarthy’s ouster has brought uncertainty to the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
But she did not hold a floor vote to confirm the investigation, putting her on shaky legal ground now that she is no longer in charge.
It’s unclear whether McCarthy’s successor would have to reinstate the impeachment inquiry to assert its legal basis, and the transition could strengthen the case for a floor vote, which did not happen last month because A handful of opponents raised the stakes for lawmakers in swing districts.
Republican leaders said the investigation was necessary to strengthen the House’s position in acquiring documents, including from the executive branch and banks. The committees’ power to subpoena records is strengthened in disputes over the constitutional significance of impeachment.
Rep. Jim Jordan told The Post that the impeachment inquiry would move “full speed ahead” if he becomes president. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued subpoenas last week seeking the banking records of first son Hunter Biden and first brother James Biden, in one of the largest lawsuits. importance to date.
Hunter and James Biden regularly involved Joe Biden in their business dealings in countries like China and Ukraine, and their bank records could show whether Joe Biden received foreign income during his eight years as vice president.
Hunter Biden wrote in a message recovered from his abandoned laptop that he had to give “half” of his income to his father, and in May the Oversight Committee traced the flow of foreign income through Biden family associates to nine of the president’s relatives.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued subpoenas for Hunter and James Biden’s bank records. Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
The Oversight Committee is also seeking access to Air Force Two’s flight manifests, nearly 5,400 documents showing Joe Biden’s use of alias-registered emails and a host of other records.
An Oversight Committee spokesman said Wednesday that the panel is moving forward amid the leadership change.
“The committee continues to review documents, records and communications and will take further action in the coming days,” the spokesperson said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
McCarthy was elected president on January 7 after a dramatic battle with fiscal hawks who demanded concessions such as the right of a single member to present a motion to repeal, the mechanism that was used to remove McCarthy on Tuesday following approval on Saturday of a motion of 45 votes in favor. daily spending bill that did not include cuts.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) initiated the motion against McCarthy, arguing that Republicans had done too little to advance the investigation into Biden.
“It’s hard to defend oversight when House Republicans haven’t even sent a subpoena to Hunter Biden. So it’s hard to argue that oversight is the reason to continue when it looks like theater of failure,” Gaetz said during the House debate Tuesday.
McCarthy and his allies accused Gaetz of leading the effort to oust him over personal grievances, rather than continuing his resolve to fund the government.
Gaetz indicated in a months-old text message reviewed by The Post that McCarthy was to blame in an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into a series of allegations against the Floridian.
In recent weeks, McCarthy publicly attributed Gaetz’s rebellion to the now-former president’s failure to intervene to squash the ethics investigation. Gaetz said his complaints with McCarthy had nothing to do with the ethics investigation and accused the Californian of misleading.
McCarthy has claimed that Rep. Matt Gaetz triggered the motion against him because the president refused to squash a House ethics investigation into the Florida lawmaker.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The former president’s enemies argue that he sealed his own fate with last week’s continuity resolution (CR).
The smears swept up McCarthy’s allies on Wednesday.
Two anti-McCarthy Republican operatives told the Post that fiscal hawks were outraged by the stopgap bill and blamed McCarthy’s hand-picked negotiators, Brittan Specht and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), for botching talks within of the Republican conference. accusing them of causing gridlock by fomenting distrust between budget hawks and more moderate Republicans.
“For months, Brittan and Congressman Garret Graves played an enormous role [in spending talks]”said a Republican staffer. “They sat in the middle between members of the House Freedom Caucus and the moderates.”
Instead of charting a path forward, “we basically wasted the entire summer,” the employee said, setting in motion McCarthy’s downfall.
Graves was “borderline obsessed” with defending his previous role in crafting June’s Fiscal Responsibility Act, which raised the debt ceiling until January 2025 in exchange for some spending concessions, the source said.
“I think part of it was incompetence. “I think some of that was ego,” the employee said.
Poor communication within the caucus “sank the entire appropriations process,” a second GOP source said.
The second source also said that hardliners were particularly upset with Specht, McCarthy’s deputy chief of staff.
The top adviser “was instrumental in screwing” fiscal hawks on the debt ceiling bill and “completely screwing conservatives even more” by misinterpreting the Freedom Caucus’ most recent demands as red lines, which contributed to an impasse, the source said.
“[Specht] I wanted to block the conservatives and make a CR. It’s pretty unprecedented that you have a leadership staff member lying. [or] At best, they intentionally didn’t do their job to make sure we did a CR,” the source charged.
Specht did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Graves on Wednesday attacked the eight Republican rebels led by Gaetz who joined with Democrats to oust McCarthy, calling them “arsonists who set his house on fire.”
“There are 12 appropriations bills. All of those bills are moving forward,” Graves told reporters at the Capitol. “Now, those who are not moving, it is for a reason: it is because Matt Gaetz and some of his cronies have single-handedly prevented or obstructed his progress.”
But conservatives opposed to McCarthy said it wasn’t his or Gaetz’s fault.
The speaker’s expulsion “had nothing to do with Gaetz,” the second anti-McCarthy source added, and “only to do with the fact that this was the punishment they agreed to impose.” [in January] if he betrayed them.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn