House GOP Pushes Hunter Biden Probe Despite Thin Majority
Even with their threadbare House majority, Republicans doubled down this week on using their new power to investigate the Biden administration and in particular the president’s son
Nov. 19, 2022, at 12:09 a.m.
FILE - House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., right, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., arrive to speak with members of the press after a House Republican leadership meeting, Nov. 15, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. McCarthy won the House Speaker nomination from his colleagues, while Scalise was voted majority leader. Even with their threadbare House majority, Republicans doubled down this week on using their new power to investigate the Biden administration and in particular the president’s son. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even with their threadbare House majority, Republicans doubled down this week on using their new power next year to investigate the Biden administration and, in particular, the president’s son.
But the midterm results have emboldened a White House that has long prepared for this moment. Republicans secured much smaller margins than anticipated, and aides to President Joe Biden and other Democrats believe voters punished the GOP for its reliance on conspiracy theories and Donald Trump-fueled lies over the 2020 election.
They see it as validation for the administration's playbook for the midterms and going forward to focus on legislative achievements and continue them, in contrast to Trump-aligned candidates whose complaints about the president's son played to their most loyal supporters and were too far in the weeds for the average American. The Democrats retained control of the Senate and the GOP's margin in the House is expected to the slimmest majority in two decades.
“If you look back, we picked up seats in New York, New Jersey, California,” said Mike DuHaime, a Republican strategist and public affairs executive. “These were not voters coming to the polls because they wanted Hunter Biden investigated — far from it. They were coming to the polls because they were upset about inflation. They’re upset about gas prices. They’re upset about what’s going on with the war in Ukraine.”
But House Republicans used their first news conference after clinching the majority to discuss presidential son Hunter Biden and the Justice Department, renewing long-held grievances about what they claim is a politicized law enforcement agency and a bombshell corruption case overlooked by Democrats and the media.