As James Comer and Jim Jordan detail their plans to launch a slate of hyperpartisan, politically motivated investigations into President Biden, fellow congressional Republicans are hitting the investigation strategy. Even members of their caucus want the House GOP to address the real issues that impact Americans the most.
House Republicans Know Voters Want Their Elected Officials To Focus on Real Issues Instead of Politically Motivated Investigations:
- Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT): “I think it’s really hard to know what the politics of a course of action might be in this day and age, to know where our party stands, what our base wants, what independent voters want, but I think you have to do what you think is right and I think the American people want us to tackle some of the big challenges we have—immigration, inflation, and so forth—and the other things that divert from those priorities I think are a waste of time.” [The Bulwark, 12/7/22]
- Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said, “he ‘hadn’t really given any thought’ to impeaching Biden or a Cabinet official like Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom Kevin McCarthy singled out last month as a primary target of future House investigations. Cornyn said he hasn’t seen any actions that meet the bar for an impeachable offense: ‘Not really, no.’” [Politico, 12/6/22]
- Rep.-elect Zach Nunn (R-IA) told reporters he wants to focus on the budget, adding that any further action should be reserved for “those very rare situations where there may be laws broken.” [Axios, 11/18/22]
- Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, “The top priority is to deal with inflation and the cost of living. … What I don’t want to see is what we saw in the Trump administration where Democrats went after the president and the administration incessantly.” [Axios, 11/18/22]
- Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) on impeachment investigations: “I don’t want to start there,” Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) told Axios when asked about impeachment. “I don’t think our leadership wants to start there.” [Axios, 11/18/22]
- Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on impeachment investigations: “It’s not something that I support at this juncture. … We need to really focus on economic issues. Inflation is killing us.” [Axios, 11/18/22]
- Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT): “I’d rather focus on helping the American people, dealing with inflation, getting better energy resources, making sure entitlements are secure going forward. There are a lot of high priorities, and, frankly, looking into the president’s son doesn’t strike me as one of the big priorities we ought to be focused on.” [CNN, 11/17/22]
- Incoming freshman Rep. George Santos (R-NY) admitted that Republicans should not launch “divisive” investigations for at least six months, and should focus on improving the lives of American voters instead. Santos told reporters: “If parts of our party want to go into these investigations, that’s their prerogative. I don’t want to waste my time in Washington engaging in hyperpartisan issues, I want to come here to deliver results.” [The Hill, 11/14/22]
BONUS: Kevin McCarthy!
Before Kevin McCarthy got into bed with James Comer, Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene, McCarthy conceded to Punchbowl News that he doesn’t see the case for impeaching Biden or members of his cabinet “right now.”
The only thing that’s changed since McCarthy said that in October is his politics: he’s desperate to gain power and push an extreme MAGA agenda.