Majority in the House of Representatives: Republicans want to drive Biden ahead of them

The fact that the Republicans will have a majority in the US House of Representatives will have consequences. They are planning investigative committees and could even pressure President Biden with impeachment proceedings.

Only a few hours after it was established that the Republicans had taken over the majority in the House of Representatives, one thing was clear: it was going to be very uncomfortable for US President Joe Biden. Immediately after winning the majority in the US House of Representatives, the Republicans announced parliamentary investigations into Biden. Several Republican lawmakers said Biden’s knowledge and involvement enriched his family in questionable international deals.

Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said the investigation would be a top priority. “And to be clear,” Comer said, “this is an investigation into Joe Biden.” It was a lie from Biden not to have known about these deals. The question at stake is whether the president has been compromised by foreign money and whether he poses a threat to national security.

Republicans can initiate impeachment proceedings

It is also possible that Republicans in the House of Representatives will initiate impeachment proceedings against Biden, although this is likely to fail in the Senate with a majority of Democrats. And there are likely to be other investigative committees, for example on the situation on the border with Mexico or on the FBI searches of ex-President Donald Trump.

Another problem for Biden is that the Republicans have de facto financial sovereignty. Budgetary power rests with Congress. The previous Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, has already announced that the Republicans would no longer support the Democrats’ spending.

McCarthy is expected to replace Nancy Pelosi, who is relinquishing the leadership of the House of Representatives. He said on CNN: Washington spent the money lavishly, the Republicans would change that – from day one. And Republican Congressman Tom Emmer from Minnesota emphasized that Republicans would be the only authority over the Biden administration over the next two years.

Biden hopes for further cooperation

Biden himself called for cooperation. He explained that voters had made it clear that they wanted the parties to work together, and that he was willing to do so, but expected the same from Republicans. In the first two years of his term, Democrats and Republicans passed joint legislation.

However, it is questionable whether the Republicans will still be willing to cooperate in the future – especially against the background of the presidential election in 2024. It is important to distinguish yourself. The number of right-wing hardliners in the Republican faction also rose after the midterm elections.