House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) snapped back at MAGA House Republicans’ “conspiracy theories” on Tuesday afternoon, less than a day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) publicly claimed the ongoing probes into President Joe Biden and his family are “rising to the level of impeachment inquiry.”
When asked about the possibility of a government shutdown as he walked out of the Speaker’s office, Jeffries told reporters: “Democrats are gonna continue to focus on making life better for everyday Americans as opposed to peddling conspiracy theories, which is what the extreme MAGA Republicans have been doing throughout the 118 Congress.”
The Minority Leader’s remark follows McCarthy’s Monday night comments hinting at a likely impeachment inquiry into Biden.
“We’ve only followed where the information has taken us,” McCarthy told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity on Monday. “But Hannity, this is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed.”
Just minutes after Jeffries left the Speaker’s office Tuesday, McCarthy posted a tweet firming up his position on a potential impeachment inquiry.
“Our investigations are revealing more info every day about the Biden family’s shell companies and the sweetheart deal from the DOJ,” McCarthy tweeted. “The American public has a right to the truth. If evidence continues to rise to the level of an impeachment inquiry, House Republicans will act.”
McCarthy had previously squashed Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) effort to force an impeachment vote against Biden in June when he told his caucus to vote against her resolution.
In a closed door meeting last month, McCarthy told his caucus that it is not the right time to impeach Biden. He argued that Republicans should let ongoing committee investigations play out before any votes are taken, adding that jumping ahead could threaten their ability to hold onto their slim majority in the next election.
But McCarthy’s shift in tone toward an official impeachment inquiry comes as the speaker is embroiled in yet another episode of right-flank appeasement as far-right members continue flexing their power over the party’s thin majority in the House. Most recently, Freedom Caucus members have begun slowing down the appropriations process for next year’s spending, using standard appropriation bills as a vehicle to elevate right-wing culture wars and thereby bringing the country one step closer to a potential government shutdown.
McCarthy’s position shifting did not come as a surprise, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told reporters Tuesday as he came out of the Speaker’s office, where he had a meeting with Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), reportedly to discuss the difference between impeachment and an impeachment inquiry, CNN reported.
MAGA loyalist Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) was also seen leaving the office around the same time.
When asked about the timeline of the possible impeachment inquiry, Comer told reporters that’s not his decision.
“That’s Leader McCarthy’s decision so you’ll have to ask him,” Comer told reporters.
“I’m just getting the facts. That’s all I’m doing. I’m not in charge of impeachment. I’m just in charge of trying to get all the information that I can,” he added, referring to his Oversight Committee’s various bogus Biden investigations.
