Updated Sep 19, 2023 - Politics & Policy

House Republicans to hold first Biden impeachment hearing next week

President Biden disembarks Air Force One at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Sept. 17. Photo: James Devaney/Getty Images

House Republicans plan to hold the first hearing in the impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Sept. 28, a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said Tuesday.

Driving the news: The hearing stems from the Republicans' ongoing probe into the president's involvement with the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden.

  • The hearing will review existing evidence, said Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), calling it a "refresher course … if for no other purpose [than] to help educate the Washington, D.C. press corps."
  • "We'll be issuing the details hopefully by the end of the day or first thing in the morning," Comer said on Tuesday.
  • Comer said he expects the committee will issue subpoenas for the personal bank records of the president's son and brother, James Biden.

Catch up quick: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) bypassed a House vote and opened an impeachment inquiry into Biden on Sept. 12.

  • Republicans in both the House and Senate have said they don't think there is enough evidence to proceed with the investigation.
  • The White House has condemned the inquiry and called on news organizations to scrutinize the claims Republicans have circulated.

What they're saying: "The Oversight Committee will continue to follow the evidence and money trail to provide the transparency and accountability that Americans demand from their government," a committee spokesperson said in a statement.

The other side: Biden told Democratic donors that he wouldn't let the inquiry distract him from presidential duties.

  • "I've got a job to do," he said at the time. "I've got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day."
  • The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Details: The GOP push to impeach Biden is being led by Comer, Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.).

  • Some of Comer's Republican colleagues and their aides have expressed concerns about him being the public face of the inquiry, after he exaggerated his committee's findings of its investigation into the Biden family earlier this year, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional reporting.

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