President Joe Biden on Wednesday made his first remarks on the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry announced by Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.
Speaking at a campaign reception in McLean, Va., the President said the sole reason for Republicans wanting to impeach him is to shut down the economy.
“Before I close, I want to say something about impeachment,” Biden said. “First they just wanted to impeach me, and now they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government. Look, look I have a job to do.”
Biden’s comments come just over 24 hours after McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry into the President for his son’s business dealings. It also comes amid a September 30 deadline that Congress faces to fund the government in order to avert a shutdown.
Extreme members of the House GOP are pushing for spending cuts in the funding legislation, which Biden must sign in order to avoid a shutdown and keep the government open.
McCarthy said an impeachment inquiry is “the logical next step” in an effort to seek bank records and other documents from the president and his son Hunter Biden.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams reacted to the news, calling the move politically motivated.
“Speaker McCarthy shouldn’t cave to the extreme, far-right members who are threatening to shut down the government unless they get a baseless, evidence-free impeachment of President Biden. The consequences for the American people are too serious,” he said in a statement.
Despite the GOP-led investigations not being able to produce evidence of wrongdoing by the President, McCarthy claimed Republicans have uncovered “serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct.
