House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announces formal impeachment inquiry against President Biden

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday said House Republicans have "uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden's conduct" that will serve as the basis of an impeachment inquiry. 

"Today, I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe," McCarthy announced in a statement at the Capitol Tuesday. "This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public." 

The speaker said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the inquiry in coordination with House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

McCarthy spoke for only roughly three minutes and did not take questions from reporters. He made no mention of holding a floor vote before opening the impeachment inquiry, despite telling Breitbart earlier this month it would happen "through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person."

MCCARTHY TO GREEN LIGHT BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY THIS WEEK

He listed allegations of "abuse of power, obstruction and corruption" made against Biden by several GOP-led committees who have been investigating the president. 

"Through our investigations, we have found that President Biden did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family's foreign business dealings. Eyewitnesses have testified that the president joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions, dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars into his sons and his son's business partners," McCarthy said.

"We know that bank records show that nearly $20 million in payments were directed to the Biden family members and associates through various Shell companies. The Treasury Department alone has more than 150 transactions involving the Biden family. Another business associates that were flagged as suspicious activity by U.S. banks. Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family. Biden used his official office to coordinate with Hunter Biden's business partners about Hunter's role in Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company," he continued. 

MCCARTHY ‘DANGLING' BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY TO DELAY RECKONING OVER SPENDING, SOME CONSERVATIVES SAY

He concluded, "Finally, despite these serious allegations, it appears that the president's family has been offered special treatment by Biden's own administration. Treatment that not otherwise would have received if they were not related to the president. These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they want further investigation by the House of Representatives."

Earlier, Fox News confirmed that McCarthy will tell House Republicans today that beginning an impeachment inquiry against Biden is the "logical next step" for their investigations. An inquiry is the first step of the impeachment process, where evidence is gathered for the articles, or charges, of impeachment against an official. 

The House GOP conference plans to hold a meeting on Thursday morning for key committee chairs to lay out their latest findings and the status of the investigations into the Biden family. The chairs of the committees overseeing the inquiry will brief rank-and-file lawmakers. 

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In a statement responding to McCarthy's announcement, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations Ian Sams blasted the effort as politically motivated.

"House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they've turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. His own GOP members have said so. He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment, now he flip flopped because he doesn't have support. Extreme politics at its worst," Sams wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Sources first told Fox News Digital in August that McCarthy planned to open an impeachment inquiry this month. There had been debate at the time over whether to first hold a floor vote in a show of GOP unity. 

A House vote is not necessary to open an impeachment inquiry, but McCarthy had criticized former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for launching one into former President Donald Trump before formalizing it on the chamber floor. 

McCarthy to green light Biden impeachment this week

Fox News Digital has confirmed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will tell House Republicans today that beginning an impeachment inquiry against President Biden is "the logical next step." 

Tuesday morning's Punchbowl newsletter reported that House Republican leaders will meet behind closed doors Thursday for a scheduled update from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., on their investigations into Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. At the meeting, McCarthy is expected to say an impeachment inquiry is the "logical next step" for the Republican majority.

Sources previously told Fox News Digital that Republicans were planning to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden this month. Three separate GOP-led committees have investigated allegations that Hunter Biden leveraged his father's official government positions to secure foreign business deals. The open question for Republican lawmakers is whether President Biden ever personally benefited from his son's deals or abused the power of his office to influence them in any way. 

McCarthy said last month that an impeachment inquiry would only happen with a formal House vote. 

MCCARTHY ‘DANGLING’ BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY TO DELAY RECKONING OVER SPENDING, SOME CONSERVATIVES SAY

"To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes. The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives," McCarthy told Breitbart News in a statement. "That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person."

That means 218 lawmakers will need to support an impeachment inquiry against Biden, and it is not at all certain House Republicans have the votes to do it. Several GOP lawmakers including Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., have voiced skepticism about impeachment. Even some House conservatives who support impeachment have complained about the timing, with Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., telling Fox News Digital last week it appeared McCarthy was "dangling" the issue to avoid a confrontation over spending ahead of the next deadline to fund the government. 

MCCARTHY SAYS BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY WOULD NEED HOUSE VOTE, IN DEPARTURE FROM PELOSI AND DEMOCRATS

The House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives have urged McCarthy to force deeper spending cuts and to attach GOP priorities to any short or long-term deal, though that’s unlikely to get Senate or White House approval. They view the last debt-limit deal as a betrayal because it did not significantly curtail government spending. 

"Hiding behind impeachment to screw America with status quo massive funding … will not end well," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, warned GOP leaders earlier this month.

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With such a narrow House majority, Republicans can only afford to lose five votes from their conference in an impeachment inquiry vote. Were the House to reject impeachment, it would be a major embarrassment for McCarthy and House Republicans, who would have nothing to show voters for their investigations in next year's general election.

At the same time, impeachment hardliners like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., have threatened to attempt to remove McCarthy if the House does not follow through with an impeachment vote. 

McCarthy's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

MTG on 9/11 says states ‘should consider’ secession over Biden border policies

Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., declared Monday that states "should consider" seceding from the United States over President Biden’s border policies.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Greene said Americans are "drowning from Biden’s traitorous" policies on the U.S.-Mexico border.

"If the Biden admin refuses to stop the invasion of cartel led human and drug trafficking into our country, states should consider seceding from the union," she wrote.

MTG SAYS WHITE HOUSE ‘ATTACKING’ HER FOR HOLDING OUT GOVERNMENT FUNDING UNTIL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BEGINS

"From Texas to New York City to every town in America, we are drowning from Biden’s traitorous America last border policies," she added.

Greene has touted a "national divorce" for years, sparking backlash from her own party. In the latest instance, she suggested a split in the union based on party lines as the nation celebrated Presidents' Day.

"We need a national divorce," she wrote on Feb. 20. "We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done."

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, previously blasted the proposal as "evil."

"This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and — honestly — evil," Cox wrote. "We don’t need a divorce, we need marriage counseling."

"And we need elected leaders that don’t profit by tearing us apart," Cox continued. "We can disagree without hate."

"Healthy conflict was critical to our nation’s founding and survival," the governor added.

Greene fired back at Cox and doubled down on her comments in February, writing, "People agree with me and not the RINO governor of Utah."

"People saying national divorce is a bad idea because the left will never stop trying to control us literally make the case for national divorce," she later wrote. "We don’t want a civil war. We’re not surrendering. We’re tired of complaining with no change and want to protect our way of life."

Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Top Oversight Dem trashes Comer’s Biden probe as a ‘total bust’

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is dismissing Chairman James Comer’s probe into the Biden family as "a complete and total bust."

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., released a 14-page memo on Monday morning attacking House Republicans’ bid to investigate President Biden and his son Hunter. It comes just a day before representatives return to Capitol Hill after the August recess, and GOP leaders are expected to weigh whether to open a formal impeachment inquiry over allegations of impropriety stemming from Hunter Biden’s business dealings. 

"Instead of working on legislation to promote the common good or even just keep the government running, House Republicans are weaponizing their offices and exploiting congressional power and resources to promote debunked and outlandish conspiracy theories about President Biden," Raskin’s memo, sent on the 22nd anniversary of September 11, said. 

In a possible preview of Democrats’ rebuttal strategy, the Democrat accused Comer of trying to stage a "false moral equivalency" between Biden and former President Donald Trump. Raskin played a top role in Trump’s second impeachment, over the Capitol riot, as House Democrats’ Lead House Impeachment Manager at the time.

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"This is a transparent effort to boost Donald Trump’s campaign by establishing a false moral equivalency between Trump—the four-time-indicted former president now facing 91 federal and state criminal charges, based on a mountain of damning evidence for a shocking range of felonies, including lying to the FBI, endangering national security by illegally keeping classified documents, and conspiring to subvert the U.S. Constitution—and President Biden, against whom there is precisely zero evidence of any wrongdoing whatsoever," Raskin wrote.

"House Republicans constantly insist that they are investigating President Biden, and not his adult son. In that case, we can form an obvious judgment on their investigation: it has been a complete and total bust—an epic flop in the history of congressional investigations."

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A spokesperson for the House Oversight majority told Fox News Digital that the committee would continue its investigative efforts and argued that evidence was "mounting" against the president.

"Mounting evidence reveals that then-Vice President Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his family sold around the world to enrich the Bidens," the spokesperson said Monday.

"The Oversight Committee has a duty to continue to follow this pattern of corruption and hold President Biden accountable for abusing public office for the financial benefit of his family. Unfortunately, Democrats would rather play Biden family defense lawyer instead of working for the American people."

HUNTER BIDEN SPECIAL COUNSEL TO SEEK INDICTMENT ON GUN CHARGES

Investigating whether Biden profited off of his son’s business deals while he was vice president in the Obama administration has been a marquee item for Congress’ House GOP majority this year. 

Revelations made by former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer and elsewhere have heaped scrutiny on how much Biden knew about his son’s business, and to what extent Hunter Biden used his powerful father as leverage.

Archer said to Oversight Committee staff and several lawmakers last month that the president was on the phone with Hunter Biden at least 20 times while the latter was with business associates, across a ten-year span. Archer did not say he heard the president discuss business matters at those times.

But Biden’s allies have insisted that the hours of testimony and pages of bank records seized upon by House Republicans fail to show any proof that the president did anything improper.

VP Harris responds to smack talk from GOP 2024 candidates: ‘They’re scared’

Vice President Harris responded to smack talk from Republican 2024 presidential candidates Sunday, claiming that the GOP is "scared that we will win."

Harris made the comments during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Host Margaret Brennan asked Harris about comments from various Republican candidates stating that re-electing President Biden would essentially be voting to make her president.

Brennan quoted Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, who called Harris "impeachment insurance" for Biden.

"People know if she were president – Katie bar the door. As bad as Biden did, it would get worse," DeSantis said.

"We're delivering for the American people," Harris responded. And the reality of it is that, unfortunately, very few of those who challenge our administration actually have a plan for America. You look at what we have accomplished, Margaret. We have created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America, 13 million new jobs, unemployment at record lows. We have capped the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 a month. Capped the cost of prescription drugs on an annual basis at $2,000," Harris responded.

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"They're honing in on you. Why do you think that is? How do you respond to those attacks? That's not about policy, that's about you," Brennan asked.

KAMALA HARRIS THINKS SHE GETS MORE MEDIA SCRUTINY THAN VP PREDECESSORS: 'I THINK THAT IS THE CASE'

"Listen, this is not new. There's nothing new about that. I mean, listen, I am -- in my career, I was a career prosecutor. I was the first woman elected district attorney of San Francisco, a major city in this country, and re-elected. I was the first woman attorney general of the second-largest Department of Justice in the United States and re-elected. I was a United States senator," Harris said. "I represented one in eight Americans, and I'm now Vice President of the United States. They feel the need to attack because they're scared that we will win based on the merit of the work that Joe Biden and I, and our administration, has done."

Harris went on to say that she is "prepared" to serve as commander-in-chief if Biden is no longer fit to serve, but she insisted that Biden is "going to be fine."

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have made the same criticism of the Biden-Harris ticket as DeSantis. Biden would be 86 by the end of a second term, and the Republicans say Harris would effectively be the president.

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"I want to be clear that I pray every night for Joe Biden's good health, not only because he's our president, but because of who our vice president is," Christie said recently.

Biden is the oldest person in American history to run for president, followed closely by former President Donald Trump, who is 77.

Pence says he supports an impeachment inquiry by House Republicans

Former Vice President Pence said there is an "ethical cloud" hanging over the Biden family and President Biden’s administration, telling Fox News Digital he would support an impeachment inquiry led by House Republicans.

During a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital, the former vice president said he feels it is "such a benefit to the nation" that House Republicans are "following the facts" in their investigations into the Biden family business dealings and alleged politicization in the Justice Department’s years-long federal probe into Hunter Biden.

MCCARTHY 'DANGLING' BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY TO DELAY RECKONING OVER SPENDING, SOME CONSERVATIVES SAY

"There are so many questions about Joe Biden’s involvement and connection to his son’s businesses when he was vice president of the United States," Pence said.

"I must say, you know, I can’t relate," he continued. "When I was vice president, my son wasn’t sitting on the board of foreign corporations," he said in reference to Biden's son, Hunter. "He was sitting in the cockpit of the F-35 and flying for the Marine Corps."

Biden had another son, Beau, who deployed to Iraq with Delaware’s Army National Guard. He died of a brain tumor in 2015.

Pence said the "very idea that these things were happening is something the American people deserve to get to the bottom of." 

The House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been investigating the Biden family’s business dealings, Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and whether Joe Biden benefited while serving as vice president.

The White House has previously said the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings and had no knowledge of them. The president himself has also denied ever having spoken to his son about his business dealings or being involved in them.

This summer, the White House said Biden "was not in business with his son."

Separately, but related, Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith are leading a joint-congressional investigation into whistleblower allegations that prosecutorial decisions made in the DOJ’s Hunter Biden investigation were influenced by politics.

Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. That plea agreement, which Republicans have blasted as a "sweetheart plea deal," collapsed in court.

MCCARTHY SAYS BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY WOULD NEED HOUSE VOTE, IN DEPARTURE FROM PELOSI AND DEMOCRATS

Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.

Since then, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, who has been leading the probe since 2018, to serve as special counsel with jurisdiction over the Hunter Biden investigation and any other issues that have come up, or may come up, related to that probe.

"I welcomed the appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case," Pence said.

On Wednesday, Weiss’ team signaled that it would indict Hunter Biden on the federal gun charge by the end of the month.

"I'm heartened that it appears charges are going to be now brought at least on one aspect of the charges," Pence said.

As for the potential for an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, Pence said he supports House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his "posture to let the House work its will." 

"That’s different than Nancy Pelosi who unilaterally brought in impeachment process over a phone call by the President of the United States," Pence said, referring to the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump in 2019.

Trump, in July 2019, had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During that call, Trump pressed Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine—specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. Hunter Biden, at the time, was, and still is, under federal criminal investigation for his tax affairs, prompted by suspicious foreign transactions.

The House voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on two counts— abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate voted for acquittal in February 2020.

Trump was impeached again in January 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He was acquitted in the Senate. 

"I think, particularly at a time when so many Americans have lost confidence in equal treatment under the law, so many Americans, understandably, are concerned about a dual standard of justice in this country," Pence continued. "Now, more than ever, we need House Republicans to follow the facts, bring the facts to the American people, and if an impeachment inquiry facilitates that I would hardly support it."

At this point, it is unclear if House Republicans will move forward to officially launch an impeachment inquiry. The House returns from recess on Tuesday, September 12. 

MTG says White House ‘attacking’ her for holding out government funding vote until impeachment inquiry begins

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Saturday pushed back on criticism from the White House over her recent comments saying she would vote against funding the government if the House of Representatives does not open an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

House Republicans are considering a vote on whether to open an impeachment inquiry into the president over allegations of corruption for overseas business dealings with his son Hunter Biden, who Republican lawmakers say used his father's status when he was vice president to influence business deals in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Greene said she would refuse to vote for any government spending to avoid a shutdown if the House elects not to open an impeachment inquiry.

"The White House is attacking me for demanding an impeachment inquiry before I’ll vote to fund one penny to our over bloated $32 TRILLION dollar in debt failing government," Greene wrote in a thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

MCCARTHY SAYS BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY WOULD NEED HOUSE VOTE, IN DEPARTURE FROM PELOSI AND DEMOCRATS

"We have the evidence they have desperately been trying to hide to just ask the question," she continued. "Should we inquire? Should we just take a look? Dare we investigate further? The answer is YES but the White House is outraged at my audacity to demand it."

The White House reacted to remarks Greene made at her Floyd County Town Hall on Thursday, when she said she would not vote to fund the government if Congress does not vote on an impeachment inquiry into the president, defund "Biden's weaponization of government," eliminate any COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates and eliminate U.S. funding for Ukraine's war against Russia.

A spokesperson for the White House said Greene was part of the "hardcore fringe" of the Republican Party.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERS WANT TO LAUNCH BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY NEXT MONTH, SOURCES SAY

"The last thing the American people deserve is for extreme House members to trigger a government shutdown that hurts our economy, undermines our disaster preparedness, and forces our troops to work without guaranteed pay," spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has indicated he would move forward with an impeachment inquiry into Biden and his family's foreign business dealings, but only if there is a formal House vote, which could come as soon as this month when the legislative session resumes.

The deadline to fund the government is September 30 and McCarthy has told House GOP colleagues that he expects to move toward a short-term measure to avoid a government shutdown while the Republican-held House and Democrat-held Senate attempt to come to an agreement on a long-term budget.

The government's new fiscal year begins on October 1, when funding approval is required to avert closures of federal offices.

Biden cites busy schedule when asked about visiting East Palestine, Ohio: ‘It’s going to be awhile’

President Joe Biden cited his hectic schedule when he was asked Saturday why he had not yet visited East Palestine, Ohio, months after the town was devastated by a train derailment that polluted the environment and contaminated water.

The president's press conference in Live Oak, Florida, came in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, which caused up to $20 billion worth of damage in the Southeastern U.S., according to FOX Weather. Biden was speaking about the federal government's efforts to provide assistance to impacted Floridians, when he was asked about the small Ohio town.

"Well, I haven't had the occasion to go to East Palestine," Biden began. "There's a lot going on here, and I just haven't been able to break."

"I was thinking whether I'd go to East Palestine this week, but I was reminded I've got to go literally around the world," the president continued. "I'm going from Washington to India to Vietnam."

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Biden then reassured the crowd that the federal government will provide East Palestine with necessary resources in the wake of the disaster. 

"And so it's going to be a while. But we're making sure that East Palestine has what they need materially in order to deal with their problems," he concluded.

East Palestine was devastated by a derailed freight train on Feb. 3, which spewed toxic chemicals and caused health and environmental worries for locals. Though officials reassured the public that the town's air and water were safe, residents claimed to suffer from nausea, dizziness and headaches in the days after the disaster.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERS WANT TO LAUNCH BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY NEXT MONTH, SOURCES SAY

Biden promised to visit East Palestine "at some point" when asked about it March 2. According to Senator J.D. Vance, cleanup efforts are still ongoing, with "thousands of tons" of local soil still containing chemicals.

During an August flight to Milwaukee, Biden nearly flew over East Palestine, which invited criticism from Ohio Republicans.

"One hundred and sixty-six days ago, Joe Biden promised he would visit East Palestine. He has failed to keep that promise," Senator J.D. Vance said in a previous statement. "Not only has Joe Biden refused to visit East Palestine, but he has also refused to grant critical assistance to the recovery effort."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a statement, but has not heard back.

Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Biden administration faces increasing pressure from the left on border, immigration policies

The Biden administration, while taking heat from the right over what conservatives claim are "open-border" policies that mark a significant change from the Trump era, is also receiving loud criticism from left-wing politicians and activist groups.

Left-leaning figures say the administration has not done enough to make what they see as progress. That criticism was on display this week when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., took aim at the administration over its handling of immigration.

"Immigration is arguably this administration’s weakest issue. This is one area where our policy is dictated by politics, arguably more so than almost any other," Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with The New York Times.

"There are very clear recommendations and suggestions that we have made to the administration to provide relief on this issue, and it’s my belief that some of the hesitation around this has to do with a fear around just being seen as approving or providing permission structures or really just the Republican narratives that have surrounded immigration."

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She also joined a chorus of Democrats who have demanded the administration open up work authorizations and take other measures to protect those in the country illegally from deportation. 

"The Biden administration’s refusal to open up work authorizations or extend temporary protective status really prevents us from doing what we do best, which is allowing and creating an environment where immigrants from all over the world can create a livelihood here," Ocasio-Cortez said.

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the criticism, noting that the president had put forward immigration reform legislation, which had been rejected by Republicans, whom she blamed for making it an "incredibly political issue."

"Look, the president has done what he can from — from here, from the federal government, from the White House — to put forth and manage our border in a safe and humane way to respect the dignity of every human, as he says all the time, and making sure that our communities are safe. And you have seen him do that," Jean-Pierre said. 

"But the system is broken. We want to do this in a bipartisan way. Republicans refuse to do that."

She then said Biden "has done more to secure the border and to deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else."

The criticism from Ocasio-Cortez marks the latest example of criticism from the left the administration has faced. In August, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., said the president needed to show "leadership" as New York faced its own migrant crisis.

"Here's the thing. Democrats are looking bad right now in New York state, and that's unacceptable when we have to win at least four congressional seats to take back the House," Bowman said. "So, hopefully the president is listening."

Several top Democrats in New York, including NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have similarly blasted the lack of action from the federal government. Adams bristled at a list of recommendations provided by the government to better handle the migrant crisis this week.

"Don't critique what we've done. Don't tell us how we could have done it better," Adams said, accusing the government of being a "detached spectator." DHS has noted that it has funded New York to the tune of $140 million since October.

The criticism comes as the administration is facing a grueling legal challenge launched by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups to challenge its asylum rule, which makes illegal immigrants ineligible for asylum if they have crossed through another country without claiming asylum. That rule brought charges from the left that it was violating the right to asylum.

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The rule was initially blocked, but it has been allowed to remain in place as the Biden administration’s appeal moves through the courts.

"The ruling is a victory, but each day the Biden administration prolongs the fight over its illegal ban, many people fleeing persecution and seeking safe harbor for their families are instead left in grave danger," Katrina Eiland, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said a statement after the ruling.

In May, Menendez, along with senators Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said the administration should "reset" its policies and accused it of pushing forward with a "harmful transit ban that fundamentally limits access to our nation’s asylum system."

Last month, Menendez led 64 members of Congress in demanding that the administration stop conducting credible fear screenings of migrants in CBP custody, calling such a move "inherently problematic."

As that pressure remains from the left, conservatives are still hammering the administration. Some Republicans have called for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and arguments began last week from Republican states challenging a separate parole policy.

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy and Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

McCarthy says Biden impeachment inquiry would need House vote, in departure from Pelosi and Democrats

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Friday said an impeachment inquiry against President Biden will only move forward if there is a formal House vote. 

"To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes. The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives," McCarthy told Breitbart News in a statement. "That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person."

McCarthy's position is a departure from how his predecessor Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., handled the first impeachment inquiry against former President Donald Trump. In 2019, Pelosi unilaterally proclaimed that the House would advance an impeachment inquiry against Trump after the controversy over his infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

"This week, the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically," Pelosi said on Sept. 24, 2019. "Therefore, today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I'm directing our six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERS WANT TO LAUNCH BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY NEXT MONTH, SOURCES SAY

"The president must be held accountable," she continued. "No one is above the law."

Initially, the Trump White House refused to cooperate with the investigation, raising concerns that the whole House had not voted to launch the inquiry. It wasn't until weeks later, on Oct. 31, 2019, that the House would authorize the impeachment inquiry by a vote of 232 to 196. 

A McCarthy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that House Republican leaders are looking to launch an impeachment inquiry against Biden this month. 

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McCarthy told GOP lawmakers in a members-only conference call on Monday night that an impeachment inquiry is "the natural progression from our investigations that have been going on," one Republican who has been granted anonymity to discuss the call said. 

The lawmaker said Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., informed members on an earlier call that McCarthy suggested the House would vote on opening an impeachment inquiry next month.

"What Jim Jordan said was that McCarthy told him that it was…coming to the floor in September," the lawmaker said.

A source familiar with the discussions similarly told Fox News Digital that McCarthy told several conference members that Congress’ probes have enough momentum to push for an impeachment inquiry in the fall after lawmakers return from August recess.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH INVESTIGATION INTO CAUSE OF MAUI WILDFIRES

The president and his son Hunter Biden are under scrutiny by three separate House GOP-led committees over allegations of bribery and other corruption in the latter’s foreign business dealings. They are also looking into a plea deal nearly struck between Hunter Biden and the Justice Department in a years-long investigation into the First Son’s taxes – though that deal has since fallen apart.

The House of Representatives is returning from its six-week August recess on Sept. 12, at which point the impeachment inquiry will likely take a backseat to Congress’ race to strike a deal on funding the government by Sept. 30 – otherwise risking a partial government shutdown. 

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.