House Republicans explore 'backup options' as Biden impeachment goes nowhere

Although Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was narrowly impeached in the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, the impeachment is unlikely to be successful in the U.S. Senate — where Democrats have a narrow majority. The New York Times' Luke Broadwater has reported that even centrist Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate "have cast substantial doubt on the exercise."

Meanwhile, House Republicans' efforts to impeach President Joe Biden have been unsuccessful thanks to revelations that their "star witness," former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, lied to the FBI and was getting information from Russian intelligence.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told ABC News, "I think the Smirnov revelations destroy the entire case. Smirnov was the foundation of the whole thing. He was the one who came forward to say that Burisma had given Joe Biden $5 million, and that was just concocted in thin air."

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According to Politico's Jordain Carney, House Republicans' lack of success with a Biden impeachment is forcing them to look for "backup options" that will excite their base.

In an article published on March 13, Carney explains, "While some Republicans insist they could still take up formal articles of impeachment, they're not close to the near-unanimous support to recommend booting him from office…. But Republicans are determined not to give up on a push that's still a high priority for the GOP base — especially since abandoning it altogether could alienate conservatives they need to turn out in November. So they're exploring backup options to keep the spotlight on so-far-unproven allegations that Biden misused the public offices he's held to benefit his family's businesses."

Carney reports that the "Plan Bs" House Republicans have in mind include "legislative reforms like tighter financial disclosure and foreign lobbying guardrails; criminal referrals for Hunter Biden and others to the Justice Department; a potential lawsuit for DOJ officials' testimony and calls from some within their conference to just keep investigating."

"Any of those offramps come with risks of their own — namely, that they require cooperation from the Senate or the Justice Department," Carney observes. "But, the current GOP thinking goes, Republicans would at least have something to show to their anti-Biden voters with their thin majority on the line."

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Carney notes that continuing to "pursue impeachment articles against Biden," it could expose vulnerable House Republicans in swing districts to " a new wave of criticism from Democrats.

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Read Politico's full report at this link.