Here's why Kevin McCarthy 'simply does not' have votes to impeach: reporter

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) may be eager to move ahead with an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden to placate the far-right flank of his caucus — but he doesn't have the votes to actually impeach the president.

That's the view of CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju, who broke down the situation to "OutFront" anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday.

"This is a party divided over the question about whether to move ahead with impeachment, particularly with the House versus the Senate," said Raju. "Many Senate Republicans simply do not believe it makes sense to move forward with an impeachment inquiry at this moment, as well as some of those members impeding districts, swing districts, not there yet. So a big hurdle in the weeks and months ahead if they decide to move forward of actually impeaching the president. That's a decision the Speaker will have to make."

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"So, Manu, as I said, the vote to actually impeach President Biden would need a majority in the House," said Burnett. "That's just a basic fact. And we've heard from a lot of House Republicans who said they don't think moving forward with impeachment is wise. So, does Speaker McCarthy have the votes right now if it reaches that point?"

"He simply does not," said Raju. "In fact, I've talked to a number of House Republicans who are saying that they want to see what this investigation actually bears out, whether they can actually prove some of these allegations, and that they're not willing to vote for actually charging the president with high crimes or misdemeanors, which is an incredibly high bar. It would make Biden only the fourth president in American history to be charged with that."

"[There are] a number of Republicans, including the 18 who come from districts that Biden won in 2020," added Raju. "There's also some conservatives like Ken Buck of Colorado, all of whom are skeptical about moving forward, which shows you that Speaker McCarthy does not have the votes to actually impeach President Biden, and shows you the pressure he faces in months ahead to prove those allegations and win over those Republican skeptics."

Watch the video below or at the link.

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