NBC News reporter Ali Vitali explained that Speaker Kevin McCarthy's announcement of an impeachment inquiry might quiet the far-right, but that without an actual vote on House floor, there's nothing happening more than the Oversight Committee hearing that has been going on for the past several months.
It creates a problem for both the right and the moderates, she explained, because it doesn't ultimately give a "win" to either side.
"There are questions about if he has the votes to do this," Vitali told Jose Diaz-Balart on MSNBC. "But the other thing here is how this plays politically. Impeachment is not something — when you look at how Republicans keep their majority in 2024 — impeachment is not the thing that moderate Republicans want to hang their hat on."
"This requires people in districts that are not overtly red to play defense and explain why, instead of doing the things they ran on like combating inflation, combating crime, and instead they are focused on impeaching a president who they have not been able to find did anything wrong."
There are currently 18 Republican House members who won in 2022, in districts that were previously carried by Biden in 2020. They are seen as the most at-risk members of the House.
McCarthy on Tuesday directed the House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into the president.
But the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees have been holding hearings about Biden for most of 2023, and they've been unable to prove that he did anything illegal.
"So, really it's a problem in search of a solution for Republicans here, and that's something McCarthy will face pressure from the moderate side," Vitali continued. "And even if he is placating the right, he is still causing problems for himself. Look, in my conversations with sources, this is yet another moment where McCarthy might be boxed in, and it's politically tough, and it's difficult from a math perspective because he has to have the majority, and this is a balancing act he has to do here."
Moderates will be hurt by the fact that an "impeachment inquiry" has been announced, where the far-right MAGA base will be mad that there isn't an actual impeachment unfolding that matched what Democrats did twice with Donald Trump, he said.
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How McCarthy's fake impeachment of Biden hurts both moderates and MAGA Republicansyoutu.be
