Democrats Denounce House GOP Biden Impeachment Inquiry as ‘Absurd’

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) Sept. 12 announcement that there would be an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden drew a mixed response, with Democrats largely expressing outrage over the proceedings.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during a press conference following the announcement that the impeachment inquiry is “absurd.” and that “the American people want us to do something that will make their lives better not go off on these chases, witch hunts.”

Mr. Schumer offered his thoughts on the rationale for the inquiry.

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“I have sympathy with Speaker McCarthy. He’s in a difficult position. But sometimes you have got to tell these people who are way off the deep end … that they can’t go forward with it. So I’m disappointed. I think it’s absurd.”

Mr. McCarthy said during his announcement that the inquiry was prompted partly due to the president’s alleged involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings.

“House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct. Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption,” Mr. McCarthy said.

“Today, I am directing our house committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also had harsh words for the House Republican endeavor, telling The Epoch Times that the inquiry was “politics on steroids” and that “there’s no substance to this.”

“This is all about speaker McCarthy bowing down to a handful of extremists who will cost him his job if he doesn’t get just as wild and out there as they already are,” she said.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) asserted that the Republican efforts leaned on “MAGA-laced conspiracy theories” that are “stopping us from doing our business.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Mr. McCarthy had “no evidence” to support the inquiry.

Republicans Respond

On the Republican side, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to specifically offer support but said he thought it was best for the Senate to do their jobs and “see how this plays out later.”

“I don’t think Speaker McCarthy needs any advice from the Senate on how to run the House,” Mr. Connell told reporters on Tuesday.

Fellow Republican Mitt Romney (R-Utah) asserted that the inquiry “could have been avoided” with more transparency but, when asked by reporters on Capitol Hill if he specifically supports the measure, said it’s “The House’s undertaking.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Ark.) was firmly in support of the move, telling a reporter for The Epoch Times that the House needs to be “able to get the facts” and that “When you have credible allegations that the president of the United States was involved in a foreign bribery scheme, that’s pretty bad.”

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) offered qualified support.

“As a member of this body, I have yet to receive any reports of sufficient evidence worthy of impeachment coming from the three House committees investigating President Biden and his family. However, if the committee requires expansion of its scope via an impeachment inquiry, I would be in favor of that,” he told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

“A cheap impeachment that mirrors Pelosi’s political stunt against President Trump last Congress after he left the White House degrades the significance of impeachment standards.”

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told The Epoch Times that he thinks the “House was heading in the right direction” with the inquiry. “There’s mounting evidence of ongoing corruption. There’s a web of corruption, and they’re cutting through it, and we’re gonna meet tomorrow with the House members who are running the committees.”

Similarly, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said he thinks it’s “about time” that the House make this move and that he is “glad” Mr. McCarthy decided to move forward with the inquiry.

However, Sens Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Epoch Times he would “wait to hear more” before responding to the efforts, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said that questions about the inquiry were “too nuanced to answer” at this time and that “to be supportive implies that I know that, which I don’t know.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has been a staunch supporter of an impeachment inquiry, said during an interview posted to X that she wants to see a “very deep dive” and a” detailed investigation” into the current president and others.

“We also need to investigate the web of people that exist in our federal agencies, the FBI, the DOJ, the CIA, and many others, serving not only in this administration, the former administration, and the one before it,” Ms. Greene said.

“We need to find the people that have covered up Joe Biden’s crimes and all of the Biden family’s corruption.”