McCarthy Planning to Move Ahead With Impeachment Inquiry Without a Vote: Report

According to reporting from CNN, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been signaling to his colleagues behind closed doors that he will be pushing ahead with impeachment inquiries into President Biden at the end of September without holding a vote on the floor of the House to do so. McCarthy seems to be under pressure to skip the formal vote because he does not have enough votes for impeachment within his own Republican caucus.

McCarthy is facing tremendous pressure from the right-wing of the party in the pro-MAGA House Freedom Caucus to move forward with impeachment, while the more moderate Republicans from swing districts are opposed to such a move.

Though a floor vote to begin the inquiry is a formality, not taking the vote to solidify the majority behind him prior to moving forward on impeachment is a risky move at best. Forcing impeachment would mean vulnerable Republicans would be taking controversial impeachment votes heading into an election year.

Since conceding the "Motion to Vacate" rule to the MAGA members in order to secure their support for his Speakership, McCarthy has been held hostage by their demands with threats that if he does not pursue their pro-Trump agenda, they may execute the motion to remove him as Speaker. 

All this as evidence for impeachment is scant, to put it lightly. House Republicans have been desperate to prove Biden profited personally through his son Hunter's overseas business dealings. The only evidence the House Oversight Committee has been able to bring forward is second-hand hearsay from anonymous informants.

Republicans in both the House and the Senate were outraged when Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Hunter Biden, despite the fact they had been demanding he do so for months.