President Biden. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via
The House on Wednesday voted along party lines to officially authorize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Why it matters: The vote, which Republicans hope will bolster them in fights to enforce their subpoenas, comes just hours after Hunter Biden refused to sit for a closed-door deposition.
- Republicans are now moving to hold the president's son in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with their subpoena.
Driving the news: The House voted 221-212 to pass a resolution directing the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees to continue investigating "whether sufficient grounds exist ... to impeach Joseph Biden."
- Many Biden-district Republicans who remain skeptical of the grounds for impeachment got on board with voting to approve the inquiry as a means for forcing Hunter Biden to comply with his congressional subpoena.
What they're saying: In a statement ahead of the vote, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the vote will "strengthen our legal case in the courts as we face obstruction from the White House and witnesses."
- "Today's obstruction by Hunter Biden reinforces the need for a formal vote," they added, while announcing plans to begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter Biden.
Zoom out: Even some Senate Republicans said this week that they don't believe there is enough evidence to justify opening an inquiry.
- "There hasn't been evidence yet of wrongdoing by President Biden himself," said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).