House chairmen brief skeptical Senate Republicans on impeachment inquiry

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who have been tasked with leading an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, met with skeptical Senate Republicans on Wednesday.

Jordan said he would lay out the “facts” Republicans believe warrant a deeper investigation into what Biden knew about his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings and into whether Internal Revenue Service and Department of Justice officials extended favorable treatment to the president’s son.

“We’re going to talk about the facts. They asked us to come, so we came over,” Jordan said.

The Judiciary Committee chairman said he doesn’t have a timeline in mind for the House investigation or a goal for getting it finished by a specific date.

“All driven by the facts,” he said.

The House chairmen briefed Republican senators at the weekly Senate Steering Committee lunch in the Mansfield Room just off the Senate floor.

Senate Republicans have publicly and privately expressed their skepticism about pursuing an impeachment inquiry against Biden without first having compelling evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor, the standard for impeachment set by the Constitution.

One Republican who requested anonymity to vent frustration over Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) decision to allow an impeachment inquiry to move forward called it “a waste of time” and a “fool’s errand.”

Asked whether there’s enough evidence to impeach Biden, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team, told reporters, “I do not.”

Given their deep skepticism about impeaching Biden based on the evidence that has been made public so far, Senate Republicans are keeping their distance from the House investigation.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) told reporters Tuesday he’s staying focused on trying to get the annual spending bills finished in the next several weeks.

“Look, we got our hands full here trying to get through the appropriations process and not have an omnibus, and I don’t have any advice to give to the House. They’ve got a totally different set of challenges than we do,” he said.

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