House Republicans are expected to huddle behind closed doors Friday morning to discuss holding a vote formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, Fox News Digital has learned.
Three sources familiar with discussions said GOP leaders are strongly considering a House-wide vote to approve an investigation into Biden.
The Friday morning meeting is expected to see chairmen of the three committees probing Biden and his family — Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.; Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. — to make their case to the House GOP Conference.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., directed the House to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden in September, but the White House has dismissed the probe as illegitimate without a formal vote on the matter.
GOP leaders believe that holding a House-wide vote on formalizing the impeachment inquiry would make it harder for the Biden administration to resist House Republicans’ subpoenas and requests for information, one source explained.
And moderate Republicans have indicated they see enough need to investigate Biden to support Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., holding a vote on an inquiry.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., whose district is anchored in Miami, told Fox News Digital, ‘There’s plenty of smoke coming out of the White House which justifies an impeachment inquiry.’
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., whose district was narrowly won by Biden in 2020, is also supportive of opening a formal impeachment inquiry.
‘Since the administration has started stonewalling in the last couple of weeks, we need the impeachment inquiry to compel them to provide information. Ultimately, this is what voters need to know come next November, and the inquiry will get information,’ Bacon told Fox News Digital.
The vote would just affirm House GOP support for investigating Biden and would not in itself see the president impeached.
A Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital they believe there is enough support for such a measure to pass.
A second GOP lawmaker stressed that no decision has been made and that the formal impeachment inquiry vote was still in a ‘discussion’ phase.
At their weekly press conference on Wednesday, GOP leaders along with Comer, Jordan and Smith laid out their case for investigating the president and his family, accusing them of profiting off of his time as vice president.
‘This impeachment inquiry, led by the chairmen here today, James Comer, Jim Jordan and Jason Smith, continues to provide the American people the answers they both demand and deserve. They have found over $10 million from China, Russia, Ukraine and Romania funneled through a corrupt influence-peddling scheme to line the pockets of the Biden crime family,’ GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said.
Biden and his allies have denied any wrongdoing. The White House panned the inquiry as a ‘baseless fishing expedition’ in a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday.
‘This is yet another sad attempt by extreme House Republicans to try to distract from their own chaos and dysfunction, including whether to expel their own member and how they are yet again on a path to shut down the government,’ White House spokesman Ian Sams said.
‘Their baseless fishing expedition targeting the President has been going on for an entire year and, over and over again, their allegations of wrongdoing by President Biden have been thoroughly debunked. House Republicans have already proven this is an illegitimate exercise not rooted in facts and the truth but only in a political desire to smear the President with lies, and the American people see right through it.’
The speaker’s office did not return a request for comment.