News<\/a> in a statement \u201cif we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People\u2019s House and not through a declaration by one person.\u201d<\/p>\nMcCarthy\u2019s announcement on Tuesday does not prevent the House from bringing the matter to the floor in the future, which GOP aides said could happen. But it does protect moderates, at least for the time being, from a difficult vote that could find them at odds with some of their left-leaning constituents.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\nRep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who calls herself a centrist, spoke to those concerns last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always, always a concern, especially for Republicans who won Biden districts,\u201d Mace said when asked by Fox News\u2019s Neil Cavuto about concerns over Republicans appearing to be overreaching.<\/p>\n
But a handful of moderates brushed aside those concerns on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\u201cI\u2019m not actually relieved, I was hoping to have a vote so we can have these conversations and explain to the constituents the value, proposition behind this,\u201d Garcia said when asked if he was relieved that McCarthy did not hold a vote.<\/p>\n
He said he would have voted to open an inquiry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the great fallacy. There seems to be this national narrative that people in swing districts don\u2019t want accountability and truth,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the case. There\u2019s a reason why I still win in a district that Biden won in 13 percent. It\u2019s a rational thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/aside>\nGarcia also rejected the notion that the move to launch an inquiry likely means a later vote on articles of impeachment,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if we have open hearings and with testimony and evidence brought forward and there\u2019s no clear nexus to the vice president or when he was senator, and there\u2019s no other, you know, lying, you know, anything that would substantiate an impeachment charge, if we don\u2019t have that we\u2019re not gonna vote for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
One Biden-district Republican who requested anonymity to discuss the matter candidly said the question of whether to open an impeachment inquiry \u201cwasn\u2019t as painful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/aside>\nThey said the residents of their district have \u201cseen corruption, and so when there\u2019s smoke there\u2019s usually fire, and they want \u2014 they expect \u2014 that we\u2019re going to see what\u2019s the source of the flame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who\u2019s embroiled in a House Ethics Committee investigation and separately faces federal charges regarding his financial disclosures and for his representation of campaign fund allocations to donors, said on Wednesday that McCarthy\u2019s move was \u201ca step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into an impeachment inquiry, and from that inquiry, we can draw conclusions or not whether it warrants an impeachment. That\u2019s been my position. You can\u2019t cheapen the process. You can\u2019t jump to the final action without actually [showing] how did you get there?\u201d Santos, one of 18 House Republicans representing a House seat President Biden won in 2020, said.<\/p>\n
Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), another Republican representing a Biden-won House district, seemed to endorse a House impeachment inquiry into Biden\u00a0in a statement posted on X,<\/a>\u00a0the platform formerly known as Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cIs Joe Biden a crook? The only way to know is to get the immediate and full cooperation of the DOJ, FBI, & Treasury. The American people want answers to these mounting allegations and eyewitness reports,\u201d Williams wrote. \u201cThis inquiry will be held in full view of the public and not behind closed doors.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impeachment inquiry comes as more than a dozen Republicans will be defending their seats in districts Biden won last presidential cycle. Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, with Democrats only needed to net five seats in 2024 to flip the lower chamber.<\/p>\n
Asked about whether an impeachment inquiry could complicate the chances for Republicans in Biden-won districts to win reelection, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told The Hill, \u201cthe impeachment inquiry is another example of extreme MAGA Republicans doing nothing to improve the lives of the American people, and continuing to simply just bend the knee to the extreme right-wing ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the moderate Republicans who pretend to be moderate are gonna be held accountable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/molinaromarcus_111522gn_w.jpg?w=900\")
<\/p>\n