House Republicans hit pause on Hunter Biden contempt vote

Driving the news: The Rules Committee was scheduled to vote Tuesday on sending a contempt of Congress resolution to the House floor later this week, but the panel's chair, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), said that is no longer the case.

• "I understand that conversations between Mr. Biden's attorneys and the Oversight and Judiciary Committees are ongoing and we will not meet tonight on this matter while discussions about his compliance remain open," Cole said at the committee's hearing.
• Cole added that the panel will reconvene to advance the contempt resolution "should those conversations not prove successful."

The backdrop: In December, Hunter Biden refused to sit for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, which, along with Judiciary, is investigating the financial dealings of President Biden's family.

• Biden accused the panel of distorting private testimony and offered instead to testify at a public hearing, prompting Republicans to move to hold him in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena.
• But Hunter Biden's lawyers reached out to the two committees last week, offering to have him sit for a closed-door deposition if they issue a new subpoena.