Gaetz Teases Recruiting Dems To Topple McCarthy Amid Chaotic Impeachment Push
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared his support on Tuesday for opening a formal investigation into President Joe Biden’s impeachment.
At a special conference meeting on investigations held by House Republicans on Thursday, McCarthy was also anticipated to make a strong argument that starting an impeachment investigation into Biden is the next sensible step, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The development comes as the California Republican has been indicating throughout the recess that he is getting closer to launching such an investigation into the business dealings of the president’s son Hunter, as CNN has previously reported.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, fed up with the slow pace of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, appeared to take his battle to force House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a different direction, appealing to a leading Democrat.
“Hi, Eric. If I make a motion to remove Kevin, how many Democrat votes can I count on? Asking for a friend….” Gaetz (R-Fla.) wrote on the X platform on Saturday in response to a jab from Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).
Swalwell also took Gaetz to task in a tweet in which the Florida lawmaker was criticized by “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmead for continuing to threaten to remove McCarthy.
“I’ve never seen a colleague make more empty threats — day in/day out than this guy. Gaetz folded like a cheap card table to make McCarthy speaker and will never — I repeat never — make a motion to remove McCarthy. I do not work with serious people,” Swalwell wrote.
Later, Gaetz responded by instructing his followers to “bookmark” Swalwell’s tweet.
The Florida Republican went on to goad Swalwell on Sunday.
“If Democrats are willing to remove Kevin McCarthy, we can easily pluck out 8-10 GOP reps minimum who’ll join. That’d be great,” wrote a Twitter user.
Gaetz replied to that tweet, writing, “Quite easily, actually. Are all Democrats so willing, @ericswalwell?”
Last week, Gaetz also turned heads when he again appeared to threaten to remove McCarthy if he didn’t sign off on an impeachment inquiry.
“I worked very hard in January to develop a toolkit for House Republicans to use in a productive and positive way. I don’t believe we’ve used those tools as effectively as we should have,” Gaetz told conservative radio host Todd Starnes last week, referencing his forcing a historic 15 votes for House Speaker, resulting in the California leader conceding to allow a one-member call to force a vote on vacating his chair. Previously the threshold was five members.
“That means forcing votes on impeachment. And if Speaker McCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long,” Gaetz concluded with Starnes.
That said, according to Punchbowl News, McCarthy is preparing to tell his Republican caucus in a closed-door session that the “next logical step” is for the GOP-controlled House to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden after several committees appear to have found enough evidence of alleged criminal activity to warrant one.
“Thursday’s meeting has been called so GOP House members can get an update on the probes headed by House Oversight Committee Chair, James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio,” Newsmax reported, citing the outlet.
“Punchbowl noted that McCarthy will announce that the two chairs have found sufficient information that requires the House to formalize an impeachment inquiry. The inquiry is seen as a way to get the Bidens’ bank records,” Newsmax noted further.
The problem, however, is that not enough Republicans appear to be on board.
Even though the committees appear to have found evidence that Biden, as a vice president, may have accepted a bribe — certainly a constitutional threshold for at least beginning an inquiry — several Republican House and Senate members remain queasy about launching one.
Asked if she believes there is enough evidence to impeach Joe Biden, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said bluntly: “I do not.”
“I don’t know what the basis of this call for impeachment is. It just sounds like a lot of noise to me,” she told The Washington Times.
