House GOP probes WH handling of Biden's "garbage" comment
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House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik speaking at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, 2024. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.
House Republicans are digging in on President Biden's alleged characterization of Trump supporters as "garbage" by launching an investigation into the White House's handling of his comments.
Why it matters: The House Oversight Committee's probe is the latest in a flurry of House Republican investigations aimed at putting Democrats on defense in the last stages of the 2024 election.
State of play: Speaking to progressive group Voto Latino on Wednesday, Biden blasted comedian Tony Hinchcliffe for likening Puerto Rico to an "island of garbage" at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
- According to the White House transcript, Biden said: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter's -- his -- his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American."
- But Republicans say he said "supporters" and likened his comments to Hillary Clinton's infamous "basket of deplorables" line in 2016.
Driving the news: House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) sent a letter to the White House counsel's office demanding they preserve all documents related to the transcript.
- The lawmakers accused the White House of putting out a "false transcript" to clean up Biden's remarks and potentially violating the Presidential Records Act in the process.
- They also demanded that the White house "issue a corrected transcript with the accurate words."
The other side: A spokesperson for Democrats on the Oversight Committee told Axios, "Republicans are now investigating an apostrophe. Get a life!"
Zoom in: In addition to arguing that Biden was referring to Hinchcliffe's rhetoric and not Trump supporters, Democrats have noted that Trump has unambiguously disparaged Democrats in vicious terms while Vice President Harris has vowed to seek compromise with Republicans.
- Walz, in a radio appearance on Wednesday, said Harris has "pledged to make sure that we put dissenting voices in the cabinet."
- "Contrast that to Donald Trump calling us, you know, 'enemies from within', talking about using the military, talking about weaponizing the Department of Justice to arrest people just 'cause they disagree with him," he added.
Zoom out: The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday doubled down on its subpoena to the Department of Homeland Security for materials on Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz's connections to China.
- The committee has also been investigating Harris for her handling of immigration.
Go deeper: Anxious Democrats fume over Biden's "garbage" comment
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
