McCarthy talks possible Biden impeachment: 'We have to get the answers'

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Monday evening in an interview with Fox News he believes investigations by House Republicans into the business dealings of President Joe Biden's family are "rising to the level of impeachment inquiry."

McCarthy's comments are the strongest indication to date that Republicans will launch impeachment proceedings against Biden over his family's business dealings with Ukrainian and Chinese companies. McCarthy said an impeachment inquiry would give Congress "the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed" to investigate the president.

"I believe we will follow this all the way to the end and this is going to rise to an impeachment inquiry the way the Constitution tells us to do this," McCarthy added. "We have to get the answers to these questions."

Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, slammed House Republicans in a tweet Monday evening over their investigations into Biden and his family.

"Instead of focusing on the real issues Americans want us to address like continuing to lower inflation or create jobs, this is what the @HouseGOP wants to prioritize," Sams wrote. "Their eagerness to go after @POTUS regardless of the truth is seemingly bottomless."

McCarthy has indicated support for impeachment investigations against a select number of Biden's Cabinet officials, but sidestepped directly threatening the president with impeachment. After Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., introduced articles of impeachment late last month against Biden over his handling of the southern border, McCarthy avoided a vote on impeaching the president by referring the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee and Homeland Security Committee.

House Republicans have launched investigations with McCarthy's support into Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and the president's son, Hunter Biden. In his interview with Fox News on Monday, McCarthy referenced two IRS whistleblowers who allege government agencies interfered with their investigation into Hunter Biden and prevented them from following certain leads that could have implicated the incumbent president.

"This President has also used something we have not seen since Richard Nixon, use the weaponization of government to benefit his family and deny Congress the ability to have the oversight," McCarthy said.

Some House Republicans, however, want to go even further with their investigations into senior Biden officials.

In addition to impeaching the president and Mayorkas, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she wants to also impeach U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks possible Biden impeachment