When House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was in the minority, he claimed it was against House rules to start an impeachment proceeding without a full vote of the House and, as recently as two weeks ago, he told Breitbart News he needed a vote before going forward.
But now he's changed his mind, reported Axios — and he says his predecessor Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the reason.
"She changed [the rules]," said McCarthy in conversation with reporters on Tuesday. "This is how you do it. So, I warned her not to do it that way in the process, and that's what she did, so that's what we do."
The House opened two impeachment investigations into former President Donald Trump, one for holding Ukraine military aid hostage in exchange for an international investigation of the Biden family, and one for inciting the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In both cases, the investigation began before a formal House vote could be taken.
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McCarthy had criticized that. "That's why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People's House and not through a declaration by one person," he told Breitbart.
Now, he's saying the precedent set by the Trump impeachments is the one he had to follow.
Under pressure from the right flank of his caucus, McCarthy announced support for an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden earlier Tuesday, despite no actual evidence in any of the GOP investigative committees that the president has committed any crime.
Republicans have claimed for months that Biden was involved in an international bribery scheme involving his son Hunter's overseas business dealings, but even their own witnesses have said they never saw any evidence the elder Biden was involved.
Regardless, far-right lawmakers believe even this measure isn't going far enough, with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) calling McCarthy's announcement a "baby step."
