House to vote on Biden impeachment and Schiff censure
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President Biden. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images.
The House will vote this week on a pair of resolutions impeaching President Biden and censuring Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Why it matters: Both measures were introduced by members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, who have proven increasingly willing to try to force votes that could divide their party.
- That was demonstrated last week, when 20 Republicans helped to kill an iteration of the Schiff censure last week that included a $16 million fine.
Driving the news: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) introduced a privileged motion on Tuesday to force a vote on her two articles of impeachment against Biden.
- The resolution charges Biden with abuse of power and dereliction of duty over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), meanwhile, is making another run — without the fine — at passing her resolution to censure Schiff over his claims about former President Trump's ties to Russia.
The state of play: While Luna's resolution appears to have the votes to pass now that she has removed the fine, Boebert's resolution is treading into uncharted territory.
- Some centrist and swing-district Republicans have balked at the idea of impeaching Biden's cabinet secretaries, let alone Biden himself, without clear evidence of wrongdoing.
- "I don't think that impeachment is something that should be taken lightly," Biden-district Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told Axios last week. "I think the House should only impeach when it is likely ... to have the votes in the House and the Senate."
- Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) forced two such votes against then-President Trump in 2017 and 2018, though most Democrats joined Republicans in voting against his resolutions.
What we're watching: Luna pushing her Schiff censure appears to have opened the floodgates for right-wing lawmakers to pursue similar efforts, with or without buy-in from GOP leadership.
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has introduced a slew of impeachment resolutions against Biden and his officials, told Politico she plans to force votes on them as well.
