Long-shot GOP presidential candidate Perry Johnson considering Senate bid in battleground Michigan

Long-shot Republican presidential candidate Perry Johnson isn't ruling out a run for the open Senate seat in battleground Michigan.

"Obviously, it’s no secret that I’ve had a lot of calls to run for this seat because they do want to win this seat. But at this point in time, my focus is right on the presidential [race], and, believe me, that’s taking all my time and energy at this point," Johnson said Thursday in a Fox News Digital interview.

The Michigan businessman and quality control industry expert failed to qualify for the first two Republican presidential nomination debates, including Wednesday's second showdown, a FOX Business co-hosted event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Johnson now faces an even steeper climb to make the stage at the third showdown in early November in Miami, Florida, because the Republican National Committee continues to raise polling and donor thresholds the candidates need to reach to qualify for the upcoming debates.

PERRY JOHNSON DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS ‘TRUMP WITHOUT THE BAGGAGE’

Pointing to the polling threshold for the third GOP debate, Johnson said "4% is a big bar."

"When you’re an outsider, it’s very hard to get on the debate stage because, not only do you have to hit the poll numbers, then you have to have them [the RNC] say these polls are OK." He criticized the national party committee for not recognizing certain polls that don't meet its standards.

Johnson emphasized that, when it comes to his White House campaign, "right now, I think the plan is to go all in, in an individual state. If you’re not on the debate stage, that has to be the approach you take. …. The issue is to get to 4% nationally. 

"You can really only focus on one thing at a time, and when you’re running for president, it’s a full time for job."

POLITICAL PUNDITS PICK WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM SECOND GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Johnson ran last year for the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nomination in Michigan and was considered a top contender before he and four other Republican hopefuls were disqualified because of invalid signatures. He has poured millions of his own money into his 2024 presidential campaign.

As Republicans aim to win back the Senate majority in 2024, they're eyeing Michigan, where longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow is retiring rather than seeking another term.

"As you can imagine, I get inundated with calls because of the fact that Michigan has an open seat," Johnson said. "It’s literally a seat that Republicans have not had in Michigan in a long time."

Former longtime Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, who served as House Intelligence Committee chair during his last four years in office, launched a GOP Senate campaign earlier this month. Former Rep. Peter Meijer, who backed the impeachment of President Donald Trump, has formed an exploratory committee.

And Michigan State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder, businessperson Michael Hoover and attorney Alexandria Taylor have filed to run for the GOP Senate nomination.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin is the front-runner for the Democratic Senate nomination in a field that also includes actor and businessman Hill Harper, state Board of Education President Pamela Pugh and former state Rep. Leslie Love. 

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

Democrat turned Republican ‘seriously considering’ challenge to embattled senator indicted on federal charges

Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew is "seriously considering" a challenge to Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez, who is running for re-election next year despite being indicted last week on federal bribery and corruption charges.

Fox News Digital confirmed late Tuesday that Van Drew, a former Democrat, is looking at a potential run, but in the meantime "is focused on the issues before Congress."

Van Drew was first elected as a Democrat representing New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District in 2018, but left the party and became a Republican in Dec. 2019, citing the first impeachment of former President Donald as the final straw after he had been mulling a switch for a while.

GOP, DEMS TEAM UP TO RIP ‘DELUSIONAL’ SINEMA OVER ‘PLAN’ TO SWIPE THEIR VOTERS IN INDEPENDENT RE-ELECTION BID

Fox has reached out to the Menendez campaign for comment.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed the indictment on Friday, charging Menendez, his wife Nadine, and New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes with participating in a years-long bribery scheme. 

At a press conference Monday, Menendez asserted he will be exonerated and will remain New Jersey's senior senator. 

LEGAL EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON MENENDEZ INDICTMENT, SUGGEST ‘MONSTER’ CHARGES POINT TO LIKELY CONVICTION

However, he has faced numerous calls from his own party to resign his seat over the indictment, including from Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Peter Welch, D-Vt., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Since 2018, as alleged by federal prosecutors, the three businessmen collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including cash, gold, a Mercedes-Benz, and other things of value in exchange for Menendez agreeing to use his power and influence to protect and enrich them and to benefit the government of Egypt. 

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

GOP senator latest Republican to throw hat behind Trump for president

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican senator running for his state's governorship threw his hat behind former President Trump's White House bid.

Republican Senator Mike Braun of Indiana, who is running to be the Hoosier State's next governor, told Fox News Digital that he is endorsing Trump for president in the 2024 race.

"As a Main Street Entrepreneur and political outsider, I’ve seen firsthand how the Washington swamp works against Hoosiers and works overtime to hamper our prosperity," Braun told Fox News Digital.

SPEAKER MCCARTHY PREDICTS TRUMP WILL BE GOP NOMINEE, SLAMS DESANTIS AS ‘NOT AT THE SAME LEVEL’

"Donald Trump is a businessman and outsider," Braun said. "Together, we took on the Washington swamp with a historic victory in the 2018 Indiana Senate race."

"We installed constitutional conservatives on the Supreme Court who have protected the unborn and our Second Amendment rights, and we disrupted the cozy, self-serving Washington elites who are bankrupting our country," the Indiana senator continued.

Braun said that "Donald Trump is the candidate capable of returning us to the America First policies that delivered unmatched prosperity and security for the American people."

"I give Donald Trump my endorsement for President of the United States," he added.

Braun has been a staunch ally of Trump through his first term and was a loud voice of support behind the former president in his first impeachment trial.

Trump was also a major ally behind Braun's 2018 Senate run when he defeated then-incumbent Democrat Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly for his seat.

Trump brought in thousands of people to his rallies supporting Braum as the now-senator ran amid a tough midterm election year for Republicans.

Braun's comments come as a top Republican predicts Trump will take the GOP White House nomination.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted the former president will win the 2024 Republican presidential primary race on Sunday, bashing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as "not at the same level."

McCarthy made the comments during an appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" with host Maria Bartiromo. McCarthy has previously remained neutral in the GOP primary, declining to endorse Trump in July.

"I think he will be the nominee," McCarthy said about Trump after Bartiromo asked if he thought the former president would be the party's choice for 2024. "The thing is, President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020, and there's a reason why. They saw the policies of what he was able to do with America – putting America first, making our economy stronger."

"We didn't have inflation. We didn't have these battles around the world. We didn't look weak around the world," he added.

"Well it looks like Ron DeSantis is now trying to work with your colleagues who are pushing for a shutdown," Bartiromo said.

"I don't think that would work anywhere. A shutdown would only give strength to the Democrats," McCarthy said. "It would give the power to Biden. It wouldn't pay our troops. It wouldn't pay our border agents."

"I actually want to achieve something, and this is where President Trump is so smart, that he was successful in this." McCarthy continued. "President Trump is beating Biden right now in the polls. He is stronger than he has ever been in this process, and, look, I served with Ron DeSantis – he's not at the same level as President Trump by any shape or form. He would not have gotten elected without President Trump's endorsement."

While McCarthy's comments do not amount to an official endorsement of Trump, they are a clear message of friendship to the former president. McCarthy had previously offended the Trump campaign with another television appearance in June.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed reporting.

Trump calls out Biden on 9/11 claim, other falsehoods over past few weeks: ‘Everything he says is like a lie’

Former President Donald Trump has lashed out against President Biden's repeated false claims over the past few weeks, including the Democrat's latest gaffe about 9/11. 

"Look at all the lies he’d told," Trump told NBC’s "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker in his first network news interview since leaving office aired Sunday. 

"Look at all the lies he’s told over the past couple of weeks. He said he was at the World Trade Center, and he wasn’t," Trump said. "He said he flew airplanes. He didn’t. He said he drove trucks, and he didn’t. Everything he says is like a lie. It’s terrible." 

 Trump added that Biden claimed to have a golf handicap of six, which means he shoots six over par on average – an impressive score for a non-professional. 

"He’s not a six," Trump added over Welker’s interjection. 

Welker, who newly took over the program from former host Chuck Todd, said she wanted to focus on Trump, not Biden, during the interview because "it’s important that we hear from you." 

TRUMP OPPOSES AGE LIMITS FOR POLITICIANS, SAYS COMPETENCY TESTS WOULD BE ‘A GOOD THING’

"Well, I’d like you to, but you keep interrupting me," Trump said. 

At a 9/11 remembrance event at a military base in Alaska last week, Biden falsely claimed that he visited Ground Zero the day after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City. By contrast, Trump did visit Ground Zero days after the 2001 attacks, as evidenced in archived photos taken in Manhattan. 

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby avoided a question about 80-year-old Biden’s 9/11 gaffe last week. 

"In the past couple of weeks, the president has lied about being at Ground Zero the day after the Sept. 11 attacks, falsely claimed he saw the Pittsburgh bridge collapse, claimed his grandfather died in the hospital days before his birth," The Washington Times reporter Jeff Mordock posed during a White House press briefing. "What is going on with the president? Is he just believing things that didn’t happen, did happen? Or is he just randomly making stuff up?"

FLORIDA GOP GIVES A VICTORY TO TRUMP OVER DESANTIS BY SCRAPPING A PROPOSED PRIMARY BALLOT RULE

"The president was deeply touched and honored to be able to spend 9/11 with military members there in Alaska and some families," Kirby said in response. "And he spoke about a visit to Ground Zero, which he did participate in about a week or so after the event. And what that looked and what that smelled and what that felt like. And it has visceral impact on him as it did so many other Americans on that terrible day. And he’s focused on making sure that an attack like that never happens again."

Last week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., launched an impeachment inquiry into Biden’s conduct. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was seen walking off during her daily briefing when a member of the press pool asked her to respond to a recent poll suggesting 61% of Americans believe Biden lied about his alleged involvement in the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden. 

In the interview Sunday, Welker also asked Trump, "Mr. President, tell me what you see when you look at your mugshot."

"I see somebody that loves this country in me. That loves this country," Trump began. "I see tremendous unfairness. I think very few people would have been able to handle what I handled."

In the case related to Mar-a-Lago, Welker asked Trump about a new charge alleging the former president asked a staffer to delete security camera footage so it wouldn’t get into the hands of investigators. Trump's response criticized the Justice Department's Special Counsel Jack Smith. 

"False," Trump said, agreeing he would testify to that under oath. "It’s a fake charge by this deranged lunatic prosecutor who lost in the Supreme Court 9 to nothing, and he tried to destroy lots of lives. He’s a lunatic, so it’s a fake charge, but, more importantly, the tapes weren’t deleted. In other words, there was nothing done to them. And, they were my tapes." 

Trump blasts Justice Department Hunter Biden indictment as ‘only crime’ that doesn’t ‘implicate’ the president

Former President Donald Trump is taking aim at the Justice Department over its indictment of President Biden's son Hunter Biden on federal firearms charges.

The former president claimed in a Truth Social post that the gun charge was "the only crime that Hunter Biden committed that does not implicate Crooked Joe Biden." 

Hunter Biden, in an indictment filed Thursday in federal court in Delaware by a special counsel overseeing the case, is accused of lying about his drug use when he purchased a weapon in 2018, during a time when he's acknowledged struggling with a crack cocaine addiction.

The charges, which come weeks after a plea deal collapsed, are the latest twist in a long-running investigation into the president's son which could result in a high-profile trial ahead of a likely rematch between the elder Biden and Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

HOW MUCH TIME HUNTER BIDEN COULD FACE BEHIND BARS IF CONVICTED OF FEDERAL FIREARMS CHARGES 

Trump, taking to social media moments after the news broke of the Hunter Biden indictment, reiterated his unproven claims that the Justice Department is working to undermine him in the 2024 election.

GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Wednesday that he was directing a committee to open an impeachment inquiry into the president. House Republicans allege that the president — when he was serving as vice president in the Obama administration — profited off his son's foreign business deals. 

Trump also slammed the Justice Department, and Democrats, for what he claimed are the "horrible, very unfair, and mostly illegal Witch Hunts," as he referred to his own federal indictments related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INDICTMENT AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN

Trump wasn't the only Republican presidential candidate to react to the bombshell Hunter Biden developments.

Multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who's Trump's biggest supporter in the large field of contenders vying for the GOP presidential nomination, argued in a social medial posting that "Today’s indictment of Hunter Biden is a smokescreen. Don’t fall for it."

"This is a fig leaf designed to deflect attention away from the real problem: the Biden family is selling out U.S. foreign policy for their own family’s private financial gain," Ramaswamy charged. "That’s really what’s wrong, and we must hold politicians in both major political parties when they use our foreign policy to enrich their family members."

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who's also campaigning for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, said in an interview on Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" that "I think is just the tip of the iceberg with these indictments."

"The bigger issue is influence peddling and the fact that the United States could be compromised on foreign policy with countries because of illegal payments, you know, channeled through these shell companies. But I think it's good the inquiry is going on. I think it's good that they're continuing to pursue," Burgum added. 

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

Trump weighs in on Texas AG Ken Paxton impeachment trial, argues ‘establishment RINOs’ want to ‘undo’ election

Former President Trump weighed in on the historic impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton brought by the Republican-controlled state legislature. 

The message from Trump, the only federal official to ever be impeached twice, came as Paxton's attorneys were set to begin presenting their defense Thursday as the trial that will determine whether the Republican is removed from office winds down.

"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was easily re-elected last November, but now establishment RINOS are trying to undo that Election with a shameful impeachment of him," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social early Thursday. "Who would replace Paxton, one of the TOUGHEST & BEST Attorney Generals in the Country? Could it be a Democrat, or even worse, a RINO? The voters have decided who they want! Democrats are feeling very good right now as they watch, as usual, the Republicans fight & eat away at each other. It’s a SAD day in the Great State of Texas!" 

Attorneys for the bipartisan group of lawmakers prosecuting Paxton’s impeachment rested their case Wednesday after a woman who was expected to testify about an extramarital affair with Paxton made a sudden appearance at the trial, but she never took the stand.

EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR DETAILS SURFACE IN HISTORIC IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON

The affair is central to the proceedings and accusations that Paxton misused his power to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was under FBI investigation and employed the woman, Laura Olson. One of the articles of impeachment against Paxton alleges that Paul's hiring of Olson amounted to a bribe.

Olson was called to the stand Wednesday morning in the Texas Senate and waited outside the chamber. However, her testimony was delayed for hours before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as the trial’s judge, said toward the end of the day that Olson would not testify after all. He provided no further explanation but said both sides had agreed to it.

"She is present but has been deemed unavailable to testify," Patrick said.

Olson had been set to take the stand across from Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who is required to attend the trial but is not allowed to vote on whether her husband should be removed from office.

ALLEGED MISTRESS OF TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON DEEMED 'UNAVAILABLE' TO TAKE STAND AT HIS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Shortly after the announcement, prosecuting attorney Rusty Hardin said he was resting their side of the case. Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee then moved to end the trial on the grounds of insufficient evidence but later withdrew the request without a vote shorty before the trial adjourned for the day.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Paxton, who was suspended from office pending the trial's outcome, is not required to attend the proceedings and has not appeared in the Senate since testimony began last week. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Romney uses Biden’s own words against him, calls for president to join him in retirement: ‘Time to transition’

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, used President Biden's own words against him on Wednesday while calling on him to drop his 2024 bid for re-election and join him in retirement at the end of his term.

Romney's challenge to Biden comes just hours after the first-term senator officially announced he would not be seeking a second term, citing his own advanced age as his main reason for the decision.

"President Biden, when he was running, said he was a transitional figure to the next generation. Well, time to transition," Romney said when asked by a reporter if his decision not to run for re-election because of his age should also apply to Biden, 80, and former President Donald Trump, 77.

WATCH: KARINE JEAN-PIERRE RANTS AGAINST BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY, SNAPS AT REPORTER IN TESTY MOMENT

Romney's comments were in reference to Biden calling himself a "transition candidate" during his 2020 campaign for the presidency, something he later meant he would be someone who would help pave the way for a new generation of Democratic leadership.

"I think it would be a great thing if both President Biden and former President Trump were to stand aside and let their respective party pick someone in the next generation … I think both parties would be far better served if they were going to be represented by people other than those of us from the baby boom generation," he added.

Concern over Biden's age amid his re-election has continued to grow, even from within his own party. A recent Associated Press-NORC poll found 69% of Democrats think Biden is too old to run again.

WATCH: SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN GIVES ODD, ANIMATED REACTION TO NEWS OF BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Romney's inclusion of Trump in his concern about the age of the two presidential front-runners joins that of Trump's closest rival in the Republican primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said during a recent interview on CBS that the former president's age was "a legitimate concern" for voters going into 2024.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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

Romney announces he won’t seek re-election in 2024, bashes Trump and Biden

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Wednesday announced that he is not seeking re-election in 2024 in a statement bashing both President Biden and former President Donald Trump while calling for "a new generation of leaders."

"I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-eighties. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in," Romney said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

"We face critical challenges — mounting national debt, climate change, and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront them," Romney said.

"On the deficits and debt, both men refuse to address entitlements even though they represent two thirds of federal spending. Donald Trump calls global warming a hoax and President Biden offers feel-good solutions that will make no difference to the global climate," he added.

With respect to China, Romney said, "President Biden underinvests in the military and President Trump underinvests in our alliances. Political motivations too often impede the solutions that these challenges demand. The next generation of leaders must take America to the next stage of global leadership."

"While I’m not running for re-election, I’m not retiring from the fight. I’ll be your United States Senator until January 2025. I will keep working on these and other issues and I will advance our state’s numerous priorities. I look forward to working with you and with folks across our state and nation in that endeavor," he said.

"It is a profound honor to serve Utah and the nation, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so."

It comes as questions have swirled over his political future. Romney, who was the GOP's presidential candidate in 2012, has faced blowback from his own party over his vocal criticism of Trump. Romney had voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials. 

He was first elected to the Senate from Utah in 2018, winning the GOP primary in landslide.

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

But his willingness to reach across the aisle and criticize other national Republicans has caused friction with the Utah GOP. Last month, more than 60 GOP Utah state lawmakers endorsed Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson to mount a primary challenge against Romney. 

Wilson had formed a Senate exploratory committee in April but has not yet made a formal entrance into the race.

DeSantis says Trump’s age, like Biden’s, ‘legitimate concern’ in 2024 election

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that former President Donald Trump's age, like President Biden's is "a legitimate concern" for voters heading into the 2024 race for the White House.

DeSantis made the argument during an interview appearance on "CBS Evening News," telling host Norah O'Donnell that he thinks the Founding Fathers would go back and add age limits for elected officials in the Constitution if they could.

"I think that's absolutely a legitimate concern. The presidency is not a job for someone who is 80 years old," DeSantis said when O'Donnell asked if voters should be worried about the age of each party's front-runner in the race.

WATCH: SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN GIVES OFF, ANIMATED REACTION TO NEWS OF BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Biden, 80, is roughly three and a half years older than Trump, 77. DeSantis is 44.

"There's nothing wrong with being 80. Obviously, I'm the governor of Florida. I know a lot of people who are elderly. They're great people, but you're talking about a job where you need to give it 100%," he said. "We need an energetic president, and I think that if the Founders could kind of look at this again, I do think they probably would have put an age limit on some of these offices." 

He added that if he ended up becoming the Republican nominee and faced off against Biden as the Democrat nominee, "a lot of Americans … are going to want to see a generational passing of the torch."

WATCH: BIDEN CLAIMS WITHOUT EVIDENCE HE WAS AT GROUND ZERO ON DAY AFTER 9/11 ATTACKS

Although Biden's advanced age has been a consistent topic on the campaign trail, this is the first time DeSantis has directly addressed any concern over Trump's slightly younger age.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump and Biden campaigns for comment, but did not immediately receive responses.

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

GOP presidential candidate says more evidence needed ‘to open full-blown impeachment’ of Biden

GOP presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Americans want an investigation into President Biden's alleged involvement in his son Hunter's business affairs, but says more evidence is needed before House Republicans begin a "full-blown impeachment" inquiry.

Christie, who served as a federal prosecutor before winning election as governor in 2009, made his comments at a town hall at New Hampshire-based New England College minutes before Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that he was directing a committee to open an impeachment inquiry into the president.

"I think there should be an inquiry made about what has gone on with the Bidens' business situations. But I think they can do that through their oversight function and have the DOJ [Department of Justice] special counsel that's been appointed now in the Hunter Biden situation look at that, as well," Christie said during the town hall, which was hosted by Sirius XM. "I think, yeah, they should."

WHAT SPEAKER MCCARTHY SAID IN LAUNCHING BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

But he added, "I don't think there's enough evidence at this moment to open a full-blown impeachment on Joe Biden. And I think that wouldn't be smart to do."

House Republicans charge that the president — when he was serving as vice president in the Obama administration — profited off his son Hunter's foreign business deals. But the ongoing probes by the House GOP majority have yet to produce hard evidence linking Biden directly to his son.

FOX NEWS POLITICS: BIDEN IMPEACHMENT TAKES OFF

"If it got to the point where, as vice president, he in any way shared in the money that went along with that, I think that would be a really significant problem," Christie said. 

Asked if it would be an "impeachable" offense, Christie answered, "Yeah, I think so."

While Christie was on stage in New Hampshire — the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar — McCarthy was talking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

McCarthy said the House Oversight Committee’s investigation so far has found a "culture of corruption" around the Biden family.

"These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives," he argued.

McCarthy's announcement came as the House Republican leader faces increasing pressure from his right flank to get the ball rolling on impeaching Biden. 

Minutes after the Speaker made his news, far right Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida called the announcement a "baby step" and emphasized that "we must move faster."

Christie, speaking with Fox News after the town hall, was asked if the push by House Republicans will serve as an obstacle to the GOP candidates on the presidential campaign trail.

"Depends on how they do it. I mean, I think if they do a fair investigation into what's going on with Hunter Biden and what then-Vice President Biden was involved in or not involved. And I think that's something that the American people want to know. So they've got to do it in a fair way," he said.

The White House criticized the impeachment push by McCarthy 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," White House spokesman Ian Sams argued in a social media posting.

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