Top McConnell Ally John Cornyn Warned House Against Impeachment Inquiry, Barrasso Backs McCarthy
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) cautioned House Republicans not to pursue an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, which he sees as “unlikely to be successful in the Senate,” while House Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) indicated he was not keen on an impeachment investigation being tied to negotiations around government funding.
Cornyn and Thune, two of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) top deputies, made the comments to the Hill in an article published ahead of McCarthy’s announcement Tuesday morning that House Republicans are opening a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden.
UNITED STATES – JUNE 7: Sen. John Thune, R-S. Dak., speaks during the Senate Republicans press conference in the Capitol in Washington on June 7, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cornyn, who was formerly the GOP whip from 2013-2019, told the Hill that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is unlikely to move on a potential impeachment recommendation from the House and said investigations into Biden and his family could continue without the lower chamber taking such action.
“Since they got the majority, they got the chairmen of the various committees, they could do all of that now without going to a formal inquiry,” Cornyn told the Hill. “Members of the House don’t really care what I think. All I can tell you, it’s unlikely to be successful in the Senate.”
UNITED STATES – JUNE 8: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attend a ceremony for former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., to name rooms on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol after her and Margaret Chase Smith, R-Me., on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/)
“Rather than doing something they know is unlikely to end the way they would like, maybe they want to emphasize other things,” he added.
While Thune did not advocate against an impeachment inquiry, he indicated he would be opposed to one being tied to talks around government funding as a shutdown looms with funding set to expire on September 30.
“Well, obviously they can launch [a formal inquiry] there without tying it to government funding. Hopefully they can work all that out, how they want to handle those issues in the House,” Thune said.
During Tuesday’s leadership press conference, McConnell told reporters that he doesn’t “have any advice to give to the House” regarding the inquiry.
One leadership member who was vocal in backing McCarthy’s move is Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who chairs the Senate Republican Conference. He told Punch Bowl News Tuesday he supported the House’s effort to “untangle this web of corruption that we’ve seen coming out of this administration and specifically the Biden family.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) attends a House Republican Conference news confernce as members pack the stage on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), an establishment Republican like Cornyn and McConnell, also contended to the Hill that House Republicans had not yet put forth an explanation to Americans as to why an impeachment inquiry is needed. But McCarthy made his case Tuesday morning and seemed to alleviate some of Romney’s worries.
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 08: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) speaks to reporters in the Senate Subway during a vote in the U.S. Capitol on September 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. Senators are working toward an agreement on a short-term spending bill to fund the government and avoid a potential shutdown at the end of the month, as well as take up the Marriage Equality Bill. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The fact that the White House has been singularly silent and coddled Hunter Biden suggests an inquiry is not inappropriate,” Romney told reporters.
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