House formally launches impeachment inquiry into President Biden: what it means and what’s next

The Republican-led House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. In a show of party unity, every Republican voted in favor of the resolution 221-212.

The move comes despite lingering concerns within the GOP, particularly in districts Biden won in 2020, that House investigators have yet to produce conclusive evidence of wrongdoing by the president. Meanwhile, Democrats are calling the inquiry a politically motivated stunt.

What is Biden accused of?

In a nutshell, Republicans are alleging that Biden and his family improperly benefited from his actions as vice president under the Obama administration, and have focused on the foreign business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, with Ukraine and China.

Is there any evidence so far?

So far, there is no conclusive evidence that President Biden committed “high crimes or misdemeanors,” which are impeachable offenses under the U.S. Constitution and grounds for removing a president from office.

Some members of the GOP have even admitted this. “There hasn’t been evidence yet of wrongdoing by President Biden himself,” said Republican Sen. Mitt Romney from Utah.

What does this mean for Biden?

The vote does not mean President Biden has been impeached, nor does it accuse him of misconduct. The vote to approve the resolution now means that three GOP-led panels — the Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means committees — can move forward with their impeachment inquiry.

How does the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry change things?

Now that the inquiry has been authorized, it will strengthen the GOP’s subpoena power to obtain more documents and testimony for its investigation. It will ultimately give the GOP better legal standing against the White House, which has challenged the legal and constitutional basis for such information requests, arguing that the “Constitution requires that the full House authorize an impeachment inquiry before a committee may utilize compulsory process pursuant to the impeachment power.”

What Republicans are saying after the vote

House Speaker Mike Johnson, in a joint statement posted to X with fellow Republican Reps. Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer and Elise Stefanik, said: “As President Biden continues to stonewall lawful Congressional subpoenas, today’s vote of the full House of Representatives authorizing the inquiry puts us in the strongest position to enforce these subpoenas in court.”

“We have seen witness testimony and bank records showing millions of dollars flowing to the Biden family from foreign adversaries,” the statement continued. “Witnesses have testified about the President’s numerous interactions with his family’s foreign clients.”

What President Biden is saying about the vote

Minutes after the House voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry, President Biden responded with a statement that referenced Ukraine, Israel and the U.S. southern border, saying, “There is a lot of work to be done. But after wasting weeks trying to find a new Speaker of the House and having to expel their own members, Republicans in Congress are leaving for a month without doing anything to address these pressing challenges.”

“Instead of doing anything to help make Americans’ lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies,” Biden said. “Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.”

What happens next?

Nothing — at least in the short term. The House breaks for its holiday recess when it adjourns on Dec. 14 and will return on Jan. 9.

Politically, Wednesday’s vote ensures that the inquiry will extend well into 2024, when Biden is up for reelection and is likely to face a rematch with the twice-impeached and four-time criminally indicted former President Donald Trump. In Trump’s broader calls for retribution, he has urged Republicans to act quickly on an impeachment inquiry into his political rival.

What are the chances Biden could be impeached?

If the House ultimately votes to impeach Biden, the Senate would have to convict him on the charges in a two-thirds vote, an unlikely outcome as Biden’s fellow Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate.