House Republicans hold off on an attempt to impeach United States President Joe Biden as hard-right lawmakers are demanding immediate action.
Lawmakers who support the bid also agree with the charges that the measure raised against the Democratic leader, which include "high crimes and misdemeanors" over his handling of the US border with Mexico. The vote that hard-right House Republicans forced on Thursday sent the matter to congressional committees.
Lauren Boebert Files Impeachment of Joe Biden
The development is seen as a clear demonstration of the challenges that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced in trying to take control of the majority party. The ability of a single lawmaker in the 435-member House to lead an impeachment resolution this week was seen by many GOP members as a distraction from other priorities.
The lawmaker in question, Rep. Lauren Boebert, was backed by allies in using House rules to force a snap vote on the sensitive matter. The vote resulted in 219-208 and sent the resolution to committees for potential consideration. However, they are not obligated to do anything about the issue, per the Associated Press.
Still, the Republican lawmaker touted during the debate that the development was the House taking historic action. The situation also underscored the hold that the House's conservative flank has over the speaker, which compels him to accommodate or at least consider their hard-right views if he wishes to maintain power.
Now, conservatives are moving forward, and Boebert took advantage of the same method that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna used to force a vote on Wednesday. That particular situation was when Republicans censored Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff over his role in the investigations into former United States President Donald Trump's ties to Russia.
In response to the matter, Schiff said there would be no end to the controversy, adding that McCarthy has no control over his conference. Schiff noted that the race to the extreme was now controlling the House of Representatives, and he claimed it was already damaging the institution.
Rushing To Push the Measure
Hardline conservatives, on the other hand, have called Boebert's move premature and claim that it would only harm the GOP moving forward with investigations into the Biden family's alleged international financial schemes and could even undermine future impeachment attempts, according to Yahoo News.
McCarthy on Tuesday said during a closed-door GOP Conference meeting that his colleagues should oppose the resolution when it hits the floor. Later, the House Speaker said that he did not believe that it was the right thing to do. He added that it was one of the most severe things a member of Congress can do.
When the House floor debated the motion on Thursday, Boebert claimed that since Biden's first day in office, he has trampled on the Constitution through his "dereliction of duty." She added that every member of the House should vote to hold the Democratic leader accountable.
On the other hand, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, said that the Republican move had nothing to do with border security. He called it another attempt by the GOP to distract from other legal issues, said the Washington Post.
