House Speaker Kevin McCarthy jolted the political world a bit on Monday night, declaring during a Fox News interview that House Republicans’ investigations into President Joe Biden and his family are “rising to the level of impeachment inquiry.” Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia said McCarthy’s comments “caused a paradigm shift“ on Capitol Hill, as members came to terms with the fact that this gambit, once relegated to the GOP fringe, might actually happen.
Over the course of the day on Tuesday, the story came into sharper focus, to the point that we can now kick around the top 10 things to know about the House speaker’s impeachment plan.
1. McCarthy didn’t just blurt this out. While there can be no doubt that the California Republican is a clumsy speaker who occasionally blurts out comments he later regrets, his comments on Monday night were not accidental. In fact, McCarthy doubled down Tuesday afternoon in a written statement released online.
2. It’s already the basis for a fundraising pitch. The House speaker tried to assure the public that the GOP gambit wouldn’t “be political.” Around the same time, McCarthy sent a message to supporters, floating an “impeachment inquiry” alongside a link to send money to his political operation. How did the Republican leader reconcile the obvious contradiction? He didn’t.
3. Newt? CNN reported that McCarthy has been “consulting with former House GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich on the issue,” which is rather amusing. In case anyone needs a reminder, in 1998, Gingrich thought it’d be a great idea to launch a dubious impeachment crusade against a Democratic president. Soon after, Democrats gained seats in the 1998 midterm elections — unheard of for a president in his sixth year — and Gingrich faced a revolt from his own members. As the dust settled, Gingrich lost his gavel and was out of Congress, never to hold elected office again. He’s the guy who’s helped guide McCarthy? Specifically on impeachment?
4. McCarthy still doesn’t have evidence against Biden. At least at this point in the process, House Republicans still haven’t uncovered any credible evidence of wrongdoing against the Democratic president, as some GOP members have already conceded. But the House speaker suggested Tuesday that if his party launches an impeachment inquiry, maybe Republicans might uncover something, which was an implicit acknowledgment that the GOP’s case doesn’t actually exist.
5. McCarthy picks the wrong historical parallel. The House speaker justified his interest in an impeachment inquiry by comparing Biden to Richard Nixon, which was every bit as foolish as it sounded.
6. McCarthy is dividing his members (again). Far-right House Republicans were delighted with McCarthy’s latest comments, while GOP members from competitive districts were far less pleased. The party has already struggled of late with significant divisions, and the House speaker has apparently decided to make matters worse.
7. McCarthy keeps pointing to non-existent progress in the hapless and partisan investigation. A Politico report noted that the House speaker justified his party’s investigation by pointing to evidence “ranging from payments Biden’s family members received from foreign companies to IRS whistleblowers who allege the Justice Department hampered the Hunter Biden investigation to an uncorroborated FBI document at the heart of the GOP’s bribery investigation.” Each of these points collapsed under routine scrutiny.
8. McCarthy’s flip-flop is effectively complete. As we discussed on Tuesday, a couple of weeks before the 2022 midterm elections, then-House Minority Leader McCarthy was asked about the prospects of impeachment crusades if House Republicans retook the majority in the chamber. He downplayed the possibility. “I think the country doesn’t like impeachment used for political purposes at all,” the GOP leader told Punchbowl News in late October. Asked if anyone in the Biden administration had done anything that warranted impeachment proceedings, McCarthy added, “I don’t see it before me right now.”
Nine months later, McCarthy, too weak to call his own shots, has abandoned his earlier positions. 9. Biden doesn’t seem too worried. The president was asked briefly on Tuesday about McCarthy’s posturing. His broad smile suggested he’s not overly concerned. Biden smiles as reporters ask him about McCarthy’s push for an impeachment inquiry pic.twitter.com/xznSewL6NG 10. Biden might get some company. The House speaker’s focus on Biden comes less than a month after McCarthy repeatedly and publicly raised the prospect of impeaching Attorney General Merrick Garland. Congress’ top Republican has also talked openly about a possible impeachment push targeting Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In other words, the political world shouldn’t just ask whether there will be an impeachment inquiry, it should also ask how many impeachment inquiries we’ll end up seeing.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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