It's been nearly a month since the first hearing in the House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, and many Republicans are privately dreading another.
GOP-led committees have continued to work behind the scenes while Republicans spent three weeks trying to find a replacement for ousted House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who authorized the inquiry – and Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) admitted the probe had "fizzled a little," reported CNN.
“That slowed things down,” Van Drew said. “That was one of my concerns with the entire issue of speaker. The longer we went without one, the more that this would become problematic.”
House Ways and Means chairman Jason Smith, who heads one of the panels responsible for the inquiry, grumbled that, "We wasted 22 days" searching for a new speaker.
Sources close to the new appointee Mike Johnson said he supports the impeachment effort, although he stressed that it must be based on evidence and not done just to appease Republicans who "just want somebody to be impeached."
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“He believes it’s a fact-finding mission, and he trusts [House Oversight chairman James] Comer, [House Judiciary chairman Jim] Jordan and Smith to finalize their investigations, give him a recommendation and he supports the chairmen," said a source familiar with Johnson's thinking.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who serves on the Judiciary Committee, has been publicly skeptical of the effort to impeach Biden, saying he hasn't seen evidence to support that, but his view is privately shared by other Republican lawmakers.
“They think the hearing was a dumpster fire,” said a Democratic lawmaker who spoke to Republicans.
