White House dismisses Speaker McCarthy’s impeachment talk

The White House on Tuesday dismissed talk by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the chamber may be reaching the point where lawmakers would pursue an impeachment probe into President Biden.

“I’m not going to get into hypotheticals. I’m not going to get into what House Republicans may or may not do. What I can speak to is what the president is focused on. He’s focused on real priorities that American families care about,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“They can do whatever it is they wish to do, but we are going to stay steady and stay steadfast.”

Ms. Jean-Pierre’s remarks come after Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, made his most explicit threat to impeach the president so far. An impeachment investigation would be the first step toward bringing articles of impeachment.

“We’ve only followed where the information has taken us. But Hannity, this is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get to the rest of the knowledge and information needed,” Mr. McCarthy told Fox News host Sean Hannity Monday night.

Mr. McCarthy previously had resisted calls from conservative lawmakers to impeach Mr. Biden, fearing the move could jeopardize his party’s slim majority in the House, especially because the Democrat-controlled Senate likely would acquit the president.

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Mr. McCarthy did not give a timeline for a potential impeachment inquiry.

Mr. McCarthy’s comments come amid a slew of congressional investigations targeting Mr. Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. House Republicans are looking into the Biden family finances with a focus on payments Hunter Biden received from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. Hunter Biden sat on the company’s board while his father was vice president despite having no experience in the energy sector.

Devon Archer, a former close business associate of Hunter Biden, is expected to give the House Oversight and Accountability Committee testimony in a closed-door hearing next week to provide details about Hunter Biden’s business dealings.