The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on formalizing its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
So far, many of the Republicans representing New York districts that Biden won in 2020 are poised to vote ‘yes.’ And already, liberal-leaning organizations are pouncing.
“I think that the President needs to be held accountable and that there needs to be answers to some very serious questions regarding impropriety,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, whose office confirmed to Spectrum News he intends to vote yes.
Rep. Nick LaLota posted on social media that he will support an impeachment inquiry. And a spokesman for Rep. Anthony D’Esposito said he is in favor of “advancing this inquiry in a level-headed manner,” labeling the claims about Biden “troubling.”
This week, I’ll support impeachment inquiry into the facts surrounding President Biden taking $240k from family members involved in shady international deals.
— Nick LaLota 🗽💪🇺🇸🫡 (@nicklalota) December 11, 2023
The rule of law & principles of accountability require these decisions be made regardless of the political results.
A spokesperson for Rep. Brandon Williams did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
Democrats are vowing to make the vote a political liability for these lawmakers, noting Republicans have yet to provide evidence of any wrongdoing by Biden.
Last week, the top House Democrat, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, previewed a Democratic line of attack.
“Why are extreme MAGA Republicans wasting so much time on these efforts? … It’s because the extreme MAGA Republicans have nothing to show for their narrow, fading and decreasing majority,” he said at his weekly press conference.
Left-leaning organizations have already opened fire.
A group called the Congressional Integrity Project launched customized digital ads targeting Republicans in Biden-won districts. The ads accuse the lawmakers of not living up to a promise “to focus on real priorities, not political stunts.”
“It’s time for the Biden 17 to do the right thing and end this political farce and say no to James Comer, Jim Jordan, and their ring-leader, Donald Trump. The choice is clear,” said Kyle Herrig, the executive director of the organization, in a statement.
Rep. Mike Lawler, one of New York’s swing district Republicans who intends to vote for formalizing the inquiry, sought in a recent interview on CNN to differentiate between an investigation and an actual impeachment vote.
“Impeachment is a far ways off, but the inquiry is important,” he said.
Of course, formalizing an inquiry now does set up a potential impeachment vote for next year, at which point, these Republicans would be forced to go on the record again, notably in the middle of the election cycle.