Category: fox-news/politics/house-of-representatives/republicans

GOP asks unlikely Biden admin ally to step in to stop NM’s ‘unconstitutional power grab’

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FIRST ON FOX: Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland step in and protect the Second Amendment rights of New Mexico residents following Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s order temporarily banning open and concealed carry. 

"Governor Grisham has issued an order which is being used to blatantly trample on the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of New Mexico, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) must act swiftly to stop this unconstitutional power grab," a group of Republican senators wrote to Garland on Wednesday in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. 

The letter was spearheaded by Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who was joined by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. 

"By preventing certain New Mexicans from exercising their constitutional rights to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home, Governor Grisham is violating the Second Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article IV of the Constitution," the senators continued.

NEW MEXICO GOV. GRISHAM SWIPES AT FELLOW DEMOCRAT WHO CALLED HER GUN CARRY BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL

"This is a chilling action, and it is imperative that your Department act immediately to show that this kind of unconstitutional abuse will not be tolerated in New Mexico or anywhere else in the United States."

NRA SLAMS DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR'S GUN ORDER, ISSUES HARSH ADVICE

Lujan Grisham temporarily suspended open and concealed carry laws in Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque is located, for at least 30 days in an executive order announced Friday. The announcement was spurred by the fatal shootings of a 13-year-old girl in July, a 5-year-old girl in August and an 11-year-old boy this month. 

The announcement shocked New Mexico residents, with more than 100 people forming a protest in Old Town Albuquerque on Sunday, where they defied the order and openly carried firearms. Protesters formed another rally Tuesday on Albuquerque's Civic Plaza.

Gun rights groups have also slammed the governor as enacting an "unconstitutional" order that stripped law-abiding citizens of their rights to bear arms. 

NEW MEXICO REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS CALL FOR DEM GOV. GRISHAM'S IMPEACHMENT AFTER GUN ORDER: 'SHE'S ROGUE'

"In a shocking move, Governor Lujan Grisham is suspending Second Amendment rights by administrative fiat, ignoring the U.S. Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution. Instead of undermining the fundamental rights of law-abiding New Mexicans, she should address the soft-on-criminal policies which truly endanger its citizens," NRA-ILA Executive Director Randy Kozuch told Fox News Digital earlier this week. 

The governor has been hit with at least four lawsuits over the order, which all argue the rule defies the U.S. Constitution. 

"Gov. Luhan Grisham is throwing up a middle finger to the Constitution and the Supreme Court," said Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, one of the groups that filed a suit against Lujan Grisham. 

The governor's press secretary Caroline Sweeney told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the "order does not suspend the Constitution but instead state laws over which the governor has jurisdiction."

Sweeney added that the governor "was elected to serve the people of New Mexico, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t hear from a constituent asking for more to be done to curb this horrific violence."

The Democratic governor has also come under fire from members of her own party, including California Rep. Ted Lieu, who posted this week that the order "violates the U.S. Constitution," and liberal gun control activist David Hogg, who echoed the California lawmaker.

NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL WON'T DEFEND GOVERNOR'S GUN ORDER

Democratic New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez additionally sent Lujan Grisham a letter this week outlining that he will not defend her administration against the recent lawsuits because he believes the order does not pass "constitutional muster."

"Though I recognize my statutory obligation as New Mexico's chief legal officer to defend state officials when they are sued in their official capacity, my duty to uphold and defend the constitutional rights of every citizen takes precedence. Simply put, I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster," New Mexico AG Raul Torrez wrote in his letter to Lujan Grisham. 

NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN TAKING UP FIREARMS CLASSES FOR SELF DEFENSE: 'REFUSING TO BE VICTIMS'

The Republican senators added in their letter to Garland that the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy in New Mexico this month was "horrific" and "inexcusable," and said they would work with the Department of Justice to "combat violent crime in communities across the nation." The senators, however, continued that the governor overstepped her bounds in issuing the order and called on Garland to uphold and enforce the Constitution. 

"While the public health order may invoke state law to authorize this unconstitutional infringement, it should be no match for the authority which the DOJ has to enforce our rights under the U.S. Constitution. That is why we are calling on you to enforce the Constitution and intervene on behalf of the constitutional rights of New Mexicans to stop this unconstitutional act from standing," the senators said. 

Tuberville says House GOP must ‘not waste time’ with Biden impeachment

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said House Republicans must "not waste time" and deliver an "ironclad" case to impeach President Biden for the effort to succeed in the Senate. 

Tuberville on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of Republican senators who are skeptical of the House GOP impeachment inquiry. He said the Senate "couldn't get the votes" to convict Biden in an impeachment trial but hoped the House at least would get to the truth concerning the abuse of power and corruption allegations made against the president.

"You don’t bring a vote to the floor unless you are pretty sure that you can get the amount of votes that you need," Tuberville said on NBC's "Meet the Press NOW." "I know that wouldn’t make it to anywhere over here in the Senate. That probably wouldn’t even — wouldn’t even let it make it to the floor. But again, this is all up to the House. We got enough problems going on right now."

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. 

HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES FORMAL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AGAINST PRESIDENT BIDEN

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

The allegations against Biden concern the president's role in his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings and whether the Biden family used Joe Biden's public office for personal profit. 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 ‘DANGLING' BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY TO DELAY RECKONING OVER SPENDING, SOME CONSERVATIVES SAY

"House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they've turned up no evidence of wrongdoing," a White House spokesman said in a statement. "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." 

As House Republicans move forward with impeachment, several Republican senators have expressed doubts about the effort. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said last week she does not believe there is enough evidence to impeach Biden. Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., similarly questioned whether their House counterparts have alleged high crimes or misdemeanors against Biden specifically, Axios reported.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY WILL ‘EXPOSE THE TRUTH’

Tubervilel said the impeachment case against Biden must be "ironclad."

"I’m not for impeachment unless it is ironclad," he said. "As I said about President Trump, if you’re gonna come after a former president or president, let’s not waste time. Let’s know the truth. Let’s be able to bring it out. Let the American people know."

"We got enough problems up here right now without going through an impeachment process, but they’ll do the right thing," he added, referring to the House. "Hopefully we just find out what’s going on and, and American people get the truth."

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

NM GOP leaders to file suit against Dem Gov Grisham to block gun carry ban

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The New Mexico Senate's Republican leader is set to file a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in an effort to stop her gun carry ban.

New Mexico state Sen. Gregory Baca told Fox News Digital his lawsuit, filed in conjunction with New Mexico House Minority Leader Rep. Ryan Lane, is his response to the governor's order, cast as a public health measure, barring the concealed and open carriage of firearms in Albuquerque for at least 30 days.

NEW MEXICO SHERIFF SAYS HE WON'T ENFORCE ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ GUN BAN: ‘PROTECTING THE SECOND AMENDMENT’

"We are going to file suit against her this week, most likely today or tomorrow, because of its blatant unconstitutionality," Baca told Fox News Digital, referring to the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Baca, a lawyer, said he didn't know if the lawsuit would go to the Supreme Court but said he thinks "that it actually doesn't need to go there, because it is so clear that it violates our Constitution… both nationally and at the state level."

The New Mexico Senate GOP leader said there are six lawsuits already filed against Grisham and that he and his colleagues "will be filing at the state court level with the Supreme Court of New Mexico."

When asked if he believes the public health order will be stopped, Baca said, "I do. I think it certainly will be."

"There will be injunctive relief granted on probably all of these lawsuits forcing that health order to be rescinded at that time," he continued. "If that is not the case, she may rescind it on her own just due to pressure from her own party and her own people."

"We have a number of high-ranking Democrats now in this state that are in opposition to it because it's, as I said, it's unconstitutional on its face, including, from what I understand, six Democratic lawmakers from the House," Baca said.

Baca said that, while an impeachment inquiry would have to originate in the state House, should one reach the Senate, the chamber GOP "will give it our full attention."

The Senate Republican leader called out Grisham's statements claiming that her oath to uphold the Constitution is not "absolute."

"I believe that because of some of the words that she stated in her press statement, essentially, she said that herself," Baca said. "She said that she did violate her oath, in which case, I think that, you know, that is just a huge revelation to people."

"I've always understood that the oath I've taken both for the United States military, this office, for the New Mexico State bar, those I take seriously," he continued. "And I have felt that those should not ever be violated."

Baca's lawsuit comes as Grisham faces heavy pushback for her ban on concealed and open carry in Albuquerque.

Grisham is facing widespread outcry from state law enforcement officials following her attempt to ban concealed and open carry permits.

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen described Grisham's 30-day "public health order" as "unconstitutional" during a press conference this week despite standing beside the governor during her rollout of the policy.

"It’s unconstitutional, so there’s no way we can enforce that order," the sheriff said Monday in a news conference. "This ban does nothing to curb gun violence."

"We must always remember not only are we protecting the Second Amendment, but at the same time, we have a lot of violence within our community. Let me be clear, I hold my standards high, and I do not or never will hedge on what is right," he said.

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

Fox News Digital's Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.

House Freedom Caucus says Biden impeachment inquiry ‘long overdue’

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The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) said Tuesday that the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced earlier that day, was "long overdue," though it should not be done for political reasons.

Representative Scott Perry, R-Pa., HFC chairman, took questions after a press event, in which members of the caucus blasted the Biden administration’s spending, border security, and negotiating deals when the U.S. is on the verge of running out of money, like the end of this month.

But when it came to the impeachment inquiry, Perry said he thinks the caucus agrees with McCarthy that it should not be for political reasons.

HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES FORMAL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AGAINST PRESIDENT BIDEN

"If the facts take us to that location, then that’s where they should take it," Perry said. "But it has nothing to do with the debt, the deficit, the outrageous spending, the inflation that’s crushing American families. Those are two separate issues, and they should be dealt with separately."

He explained that Americans should not have to suffer under the current economy, where interest rates are high, and credit card payments are "through the roof."

"I think the impeachment inquiry is long overdue," the chairman said, adding he thinks any citizen that had what the president has stacked against him would be in court by now.

MCCARTHY TO GREEN LIGHT BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY THIS WEEK

McCarthy announced late Tuesday morning that House Republicans "uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct" that will serve as the basis of an impeachment inquiry.

The Speaker announced in a statement at the Capitol that the "logical next step" gives the committees the full power to get the facts and answers for the American public.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is taking the lead on the inquiry.

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

McCarthy spoke of allegations against Biden by several GOP-led committees, which included "abuse of power, obstruction and corruption."

"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," McCarthy said. "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.

The speaker concluded by accusing the president’s family of getting special treatment by the Biden administration, which would not have been offered if they were not related to the president.

"These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption…," he said.

Fox News Digital's Chris Pandolfo and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

McConnell dodges questions on House impeachment inquiry against President Biden

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., dodged reporters' questions Tuesday about whether he supports House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to open a formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. 

"Well, we've got our hands full here trying to get through the appropriations process and not have an omnibus and I don't have any advice to get to the house," McConnell said after the GOP's weekly luncheon. "They've got a totally different set of challenges than we do, and so I think the best advice for the Senate is to do our job, and we'll see how this plays out later."

"I don't think Speaker McCarthy needs any advice from the Senate on how to run the House," he said to another reporter who asked if he supported the investigations. 

Last month, McConnell told the New York Times that pursuing an impeachment inquiry "is not good for our country." Nonetheless, the GOP leader made it clear the Senate will cross that bridge when it comes. 

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." 

JOHN FETTERMAN DARES REPUBLICANS TO IMPEACH BIDEN: ‘YOU JUST GOTTA CALL THEIR BULLS--T’

McCarthy cited "abuse of power, obstruction and corruption" allegations 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. 

MCCONNELL INTENDS TO FINISH SENATE AND LEADERSHIP TERM FOLLOWING HEALTH EPISODES

Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, D-Ny., called the impeachment inquiry "absurd" on Tuesday.

"The American people want us to do something that will make their lives better, not go off on these chases and witch hunts," he said. 

"I have sympathy with Speaker McCarthy, he's in a difficult position, but sometimes you gotta tell these people who are way off the deep end who have no interest in helping the American people, who just wanna pursue their own with hunts that they can't go forward with it," he continued. 

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Gaetz threatens to force vote for McCarthy ouster ‘every day’ if he’s not ‘in compliance’

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Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he would move to take away House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s gavel "every day" if the GOP leader is not in "compliance" with key demands he listed out on the House floor Tuesday. 

"No continuing resolutions — individual spending bills or bust. Votes on balanced budgets and term limits. Subpoenas for Hunter Biden and the members of the Biden family who've been grifting off of this country. And the impeachment for Joe Biden that he so richly deserves," Gaetz listed. "Do these things or face a motion to vacate the chair."

Gaetz spoke less than two hours after McCarthy, R-Calif., announced he was directing relevant committees to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call after his speech, Gaetz called the inquiry notice a "baby step."

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

"But I have fallen for this mirage before," Gaetz continued. "I remember in January, when Kevin McCarthy ran down to the border to gaslight an impeachment of [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas], and he tried then to subjugate all the threats to his power, as impediments to a Mayorkas impeachment."

"McCarthy wasn't serious" at the time, he said. 

Gaetz told reporters there was a written agreement between McCarthy and his conservative hardliner critics made in January, when he won the speakership on a 15th round vote after facing 14 rounds of opposition. He said it was that agreement that he now expected McCarthy to adhere to, or face a call for removal. 

TOP OVERSIGHT DEMOCRAT URGES COMER, REPUBLICANS TO SUBPOENA TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW JARED KUSHNER

Some of the details of McCarthy’s deal had been made public, such as a House rules change to allow just one member to call for him to be removed from leadership — known as a motion to vacate — to trigger a House-wide vote on it. 

"If we who worked to craft that deal aren't willing to enforce it, then we just look like every other bulls--- artist in Washington DC, and it's a fate that I'm not willing to endure," Gaetz said.

DOJ, FBI, IRS INTERFERED WITH HUNTER BIDEN PROBE, ACCORDING TO WHISTLEBLOWER TESTIMONY RELEASED BY GOP

"So we're either going to get compliance or we're going to start having votes on motions to vacate, and we're gonna have them regularly. I don't anticipate them passing immediately. But I think that, you know, if we have to begin every single day in Congress with the prayer, the pledge, and the motion to vacate, so be it." 

Lawmakers are working to hash out a deal on funding the government for the next fiscal year. If no agreement is struck or if Congress fails to at least extend the current year’s spending priorities via continuing resolution by Sept. 30, the federal government could be forced into a partial shutdown.

House Republicans accuse Hunter Biden’s attorneys of intimidating IRS whistleblowers in letter to AG Garland

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House Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday accusing Hunter’s Biden legal team of engaging in a "brazen effort to intimidate and harass" the two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers in the Hunter Biden tax probe.

Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Jason Smith, R-Mo., and James Comer, R-Ky., accused Biden’s attorneys of intimidating IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who recently alleged political interference in the prosecutorial decisions throughout the years-long federal probe into the president's son.

The letter accused Biden’s lawyers of having "slandered" the whistleblowers as "disgruntled" and of "urging" the Department of Justice to prosecute them.

"Federal law protects whistleblowers from retaliation, and efforts to intimidate these whistleblowers raise serious concerns about potential obstruction of the Committees’ investigation," the letter read. "Accordingly, we request information about any attempts by Hunter Biden’s legal team to encourage the Department to take action against IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler."

IRS WHISTLEBLOWER FLAMES GARLAND, WEISS: SPECIAL COUNSEL NEEDED TO ‘INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATION'

The letter pointed to a New York Times article that said Biden’s legal team "have contended to the Justice Department that by disclosing details about the investigation to Congress, they broke the law and should be prosecuted."

The Republicans are giving the DOJ until 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 26 to produce any letters or communications from Biden’s lawyers to the DOJ "advocating for the investigation or prosecution of Mr. Shapley or Mr. Ziegler," as well as any documents and communications between his attorneys and the DOJ referring or relating to a criminal investigation or prosecution of Shapley or Ziegler.

Garland is scheduled to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee for a standard oversight hearing on Sept. 20.

Fox News has reached out to the DOJ and Biden’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Chris Clark, for comment.

The letter comes the same day that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is expected to endorse an impeachment inquiry into President Biden for his alleged involvement in his son's business dealings.

McCarthy to green light Biden impeachment this week

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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.

5 KEY DEMANDS HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ARE MAKING BEFORE TAKING PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN OFF THE TABLE

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. 

5 key demands House conservatives are making before taking partial government shutdown off table

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House lawmakers return to Capitol Hill for the first time in six weeks on Tuesday, but some factions have already begun to draw battle lines for Congress’ coming fight over how to fund the government for the next fiscal year.

The chamber is expected to vote on military funding this week, its second of 12 appropriations bills. Leaders in the House and Senate have both acknowledged that a deal must be struck on a stopgap funding bill, called a continuing resolution, to give both sides more time to reach an agreement.

If no deal is reached by Sept. 30, lawmakers risk sending the government into a partial shutdown.

As Speaker Kevin McCarthy works to build consensus within his House GOP majority, here are five major demands conservatives have made that could force a standoff between McCarthy’s conference and Democrats in charge of the Senate and White House.

Allies of former President Donald Trump in Congress have called for an end to the "weaponization" of the Justice Department in exchange for their support on any spending deal, particularly in the wake of the four indictments launched against the ex-president.

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

It was also a key part of the House Freedom Caucus’s formal position on agreeing to government funding.

The group called for measures aimed at the DOJ and FBI "to focus them on prosecuting real criminals instead of conducting political witch hunts and targeting law-abiding citizens."

Conservative Republicans are expected to put an emphasis on repealing the Biden administration’s progressive military policies on LGBTQ issues and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts as lawmakers debate the defense spending bill this week.

In an internal memo to lawmakers sent late last month, the 175-member Republican Study Committee (RSC) pointed out that a host of conservative, anti-"woke" policy items were passed in the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act in July. It said the bill secured "funding for the Department of Defense (DOD) while countering Biden’s woke attacks on military personnel."

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

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, suggested to reporters on Monday that the defense appropriations bill might not even survive a floor vote if key demands in that area are not met.

"If we want to try to get it across the finish line this week, I'm certainly open to having those conversations, but only if we get the policy changes that need to occur," Roy said. "Why would I fund transgender surgeries? Why would I fund the continued diversity, equity, inclusion officers that are dividing the Pentagon?"

McCarthy committed to Republicans to having the House pass appropriations bills at fiscal year 2022 spending levels, despite previously agreeing to roughly freeze spending at fiscal 2023 levels during negotiations with President Biden over raising the debt limit.

It’s already set the House on a collision course with the Senate, which is cobbling together its appropriations bills with toplines outlined by the McCarthy-Biden deal – about $120 billion dollars higher than the House GOP’s.

The demand for lower spending levels appears to be the most widely shared among House conservatives, though lawmakers have not settled on where to make those cuts.

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

Several hardliners in the GOP conference have called for any government spending deal to attach the party’s border security package, another wish-list item that’s virtually guaranteed to hit a wall of Democrat opposition.

Both the RSC memo and the Freedom Caucus’s official position have called for attaching the Secure the Border Act to an eventual continuing resolution, which lawmakers will likely need to pass to extend the current government funding priorities past Sept. 30 and avoid a shutdown.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said last week that he believes there’s a number of Republicans ready to vote against a continuing resolution that does not tackle border issues.

"We're basically done with this. It's time to do the right thing. Secure the southern border," Donalds said.

While a significant number of House Republicans still appear wary of launching impeachment proceedings against President Biden, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., among the most vocal conservatives in the chamber, has made it a requirement of her support for a spending deal.

"I’ve already decided: I will not vote to fund the government unless we have passed an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden," Greene told constituents at a town hall.

However, not all members of McCarthy’s right flank agree. Roy told reporters on Monday that impeachment and government spending are, and should be, two separate processes.

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

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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.