Members of the GOP are debating whether or not to move forward with efforts to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested an inquiry.
Past efforts have focused on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or President Biden himself.
From The Hill:
In a year where the GOP has been most steadily focused on possible impeachments of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or President Biden, McCarthy often has been the voice urging the conference to move patiently and deliberately.
But he has shown more vigor when eyeing Garland, an official leading an agency often derided by the GOP but a figure less frequently cited by the party’s members who are most keen on impeachment.
McCarthy first elevated the topic with a tweet late last month touting testimony of an IRS whistleblower who has alleged mismanagement of the investigation into Hunter Biden, saying it could serve as “a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry.”
But the conference — though eager to investigate — hasn’t rushed to back the idea, with some questioning whether there is a legal basis for impeaching Garland and others saying different Cabinet secretaries should be reviewed first.
“It’s very, very popular with people in the hinterlands,” Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) said of going after Garland, who he admits may not have a particular chargeable offense to zero in on.
“But the reality is that if someone is faithfully executing the desires and the orders of the president of the United States, then they’re within the bounds of what Cabinet officers do,” he added. “If they’re not faithfully executing the request of the president, then we don’t have to impeach him because they serve at the pleasure of the president.”
Another GOP Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) says the House should focus on other efforts.
“I was one of the original co-sponsors of the Secretary Blinken impeachment,” Harris said. “We ought to take that up first for the incredibly, horribly done withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
House Republicans are debating whether to focus impeachment efforts on Attorney General Merrick Garland after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested an inquiry against him. https://t.co/szuFavxqhH
— The Hill (@thehill) July 18, 2023
