Category: fox-news/us

Speaker McCarthy predicts Trump will be GOP nominee, slams DeSantis as ‘not at the same level’

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted former President Trump 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."

HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES FORMAL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AGAINST PRESIDENT BIDEN

"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.

BIDEN BREAKS SILENCE ON POSSIBLE IMPEACHMENT, BLAMES GOP DESIRE TO 'SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT'

"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.

THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: ELECTION STRATEGY IF 2024 IS A TRUMP VS. BIDEN REMATCH

In that instance, he told CNBC that he was not sure whether Trump was the best candidate to defeat Biden. He soon apologized to Trump and recanted, sending out an email fundraiser declaring Trump to be "the STRONGEST opponent to Biden."

McCarthy's compliment to Trump comes as he faces down ardent Trump allies in the House Freedom Caucus over the ongoing budget deal.

It is unclear whether the HFC will budge, however, as several members held up McCarthy's own speakership despite Trump's endorsement.

A look ahead at Pennsylvania’s special election on Tuesday

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For the third time in less than eight months, a special election will decide control of the narrowly divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives and provide political reinforcements to either the commonwealth’s Democratic governor or its Republican-controlled Senate.

On Tuesday, voters in the heavily Democratic 21st legislative district will choose a replacement for former state Rep. Sara Innamorato, who stepped down in July to focus on her bid to be Allegheny County’s next county executive. Her resignation bumped Democrats from a one-vote majority in the chamber to a 101-101 tie with Republicans.

The Democratic nominee is Lindsay Powell, director of Workforce Strategies for InnovatePGH, an economic development nonprofit, and a former aide to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto. She faces GOP nominee Erin Connolly Autenreith, a real estate agent and chairwoman of the Shaler Township Republican Committee. Her father, Thomas Connolly, served as mayor of nearby McKees Rocks in the 1980s.

PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER RESIGNS AMID CRIME WAVE

The winner will complete the remainder of Innamorato’s two-year term and be up for reelection in November 2024.

District 21 is located in the heart of Allegheny County in southwestern Pennsylvania and includes parts of Pittsburgh as well as the suburbs of Etna, Millvale, Reserve and Shaler to the north. Innamorato won the district in 2022 with 63% of the vote. Allegheny County has Pennsylvania's second-largest population and votes reliably Democratic, supporting Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the last two presidential elections with 57% and 60% of the vote, respectively. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman received 63% of the county vote in 2022 over Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz.

In the 2022 midterm election, Democrats won a majority in the Pennsylvania House for the first time since 2010, but Republicans occupied more seats by the time the term began in January because of three vacancies that were created after the election. Two Democratic members resigned to assume other offices –- lieutenant governor and U.S. representative — while a third died before Election Day and was reelected posthumously.

Democrats regained their numerical majority in February after winning special elections to fill the three vacancies. Two additional vacancies, one by a Republican who was elected to the state Senate and another by a Democrat who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, forced another round of special elections in May that would once again determine control of the House. Those elections resulted in the 102-101 Democratic edge that stood until Innamorato’s resignation in July.

Yet another special election that could determine control of the Pennsylvania House may be in the works early next year if Democratic state Rep. John Galloway is elected to a district judgeship in November, as expected.

The House is scheduled to reconvene on Sept. 26.

Here’s a look at what to expect on election night:

ELECTION DAY

The special election for Pennsylvania state House District 21 will be held on Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

WHO GETS TO VOTE

Voters must be registered in House District 21 to participate in the special election. The deadline to register was Sept. 5.

DECISION NOTES

Under its current boundaries, District 21 heavily favors Democrats. Innamorato won the 2022 general election with 63% of the vote. She performed best in the southern half of the district, which includes parts of Pittsburgh, where she dominated most of the city’s 6th, 9th, and 10th wards with between 80% and 89% of the vote.

The Republican that year, Frank Perman, carried only 16 of the district’s 79 wards, all of them in Shaler Township. This year, Autenreith would have to outperform the 50%-59% Perman scored in the eastern and western parts of Shaler, as well as cut into the Democratic lead in the rest of the township, which is conceivable considering she is the local Republican committee chairwoman. But to win, she would also have to force Powell to underperform in Pittsburgh and neighboring wards, which is a tall order considering the area’s voting history.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

PENNSYLVANIA SENATE RECONVENES FOR UNUSUAL AUGUST SESSION AS 2-MONTH BUDGET STALEMATE CONTINUES

Pennsylvania has automatic recounts in statewide races if the margin between the top two candidates is 0.5 percentage points or less. In district races, Pennsylvania law allows recounts if three voters in the district request and pay for the recount, regardless of the winning margin.

The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE

As of Monday, there were 47,682 voters registered in Pennsylvania’s House District 21, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website. Of those, 59% are Democrats, 26% are Republicans and 11% are not affiliated with any party.

The AP's preliminary turnout estimate as of Thursday is 16,000 votes, based on the results of previous contests in the district as well as those of other Pennsylvania House special elections this year in comparison to the turnout in those districts in the 2022 general election.

In the 2022 general election, 27% of ballots were cast before Election Day. The Democratic incumbent won 84% of those advance votes. As of Thursday morning, 3,600 ballots had been cast, with 82% by registered Democrats and 12% by registered Republicans.

HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?

In the 2022 general election in District 21, the AP first reported results at 8:39 p.m. ET, or 39 minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 10:33 p.m. ET with about 98% of total votes counted.

Planned Parenthood announces return of abortion in Wisconsin after key court ruling

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Planned Parenthood will resume offering abortion services to women in Wisconsin following a key court ruling against existing abortion restrictions in the state.

Planned Parenthood's clinics in Milwaukee and Madison had previously been forced to close due to the state government attempting to use an 1849 law to ban abortions. A state judge ruled that the law does not, in fact, apply to abortions, paving the way for providers to resume services.

"With patients and community as our central priority and driving force, we are eager to resume abortion services and provide this essential care to people in our State," Tanya Atkinson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said in a Thursday statement. 

"With the recent confirmation from the Court that there is not an enforceable abortion ban in Wisconsin, our staff can now provide the full scope of sexual and reproductive health care to anyone in Wisconsin who needs it, no matter what," she continued.

WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST CALLS OUT FACT-CHECKERS OVER CLAIM DEMOCRATS DON’T SUPPORT ABORTION UP UNTIL BIRTH

Abortions will resume at the pair of Wisconsin clinics on Monday.

The 1849 law in question bans the killing of fetuses, something that Republican leaders in the state argued applied to abortion. Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper disagreed, however, ruling this summer that "consensual medical abortions" do not constitute killing a fetus.

PSAKI REPEATS CLAIM THAT DEMS DON’T SUPPORT ABORTION UNTIL BIRTH: ‘ENTIRELY MISLEADING’

Instead, Schlipper interpreted the law to ban an intentional attack on a mother with the goal of killing a fetus.

"There is no such thing as an ‘1849 Abortion Ban’ in Wisconsin," she wrote in her ruling.

Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers had attempted to overturn the 1849 ban via a repeal bill, but the Republican-held legislature refused to take up the legislation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

McCarthy exasperated with fellow Republicans on funding fight: ‘I’m not quite sure what they want’

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed exasperation with a small group of his fellow Republicans on Thursday, saying he is not sure what they want to get out of ongoing funding negotiations.

House lawmakers are debating funding for the Department of Defense this week, and McCarthy claims he has members who have "no complaint" about the bill but still oppose it. Meanwhile, members of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) say they have made their demands clear and blame GOP leadership for refusing to go toe-to-toe with Democrats in a government shutdown.

"Yeah, I don't understand how members, they have no complaint about the DOD bill. But they don't want to pass it. I got a small group of members who don't want to vote for CR, don't want to vote for individual bills and don't want to vote for an Omni. I’m not quite sure what they want," McCarthy told Punchbowl News on Thursday.

WHITE HOUSE SENDS LETTER TO MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS DEMANDING ‘SCRUTINY’ OF REPUBLICANS AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

McCarthy made the public comment ahead of a private meeting with fellow Republicans. After the meeting, McCarthy told reporters that he "showed frustration" with his colleagues.

"Nobody wins in a government shutdown. Nobody wins. I've been here. But what we want to do is we want to be able to win the policies that we've been fighting for and telling the American public we want to make sure our border becomes secure. We want to stop the runaway spending," he said.

McCarthy went on to say he is not concerned about threats from a handful of Republicans to file a motion to vacate against him.

"If it takes a fight, I'll have a fight," he said.

HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES FORMAL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AGAINST PRESIDENT BIDEN

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, responded to McCarthy during a radio appearance with Glenn Beck on Thursday just after the closed-door meeting. He referenced demands about border security and President Biden's use of the federal bureaucracy.

"I just came out of a Republican conference meeting, and it wasn't where I wanted it to be," Roy said of the negotiations. "Your Republican conference, all too happy to campaign on border security, won't do a damn thing about it."

"We have to use the power of the purse to force change. So we are trying to force Kevin and the leadership of the Republican conference to understand that now's the time to force Biden to come to the table. They're so afraid of a shutdown that they are unwilling to, you know, stand up and lock arms and tell President Biden, ‘No more,'" he added.

Roy's office has previously pointed to a letter from the HFC last month detailing their demands for the budget battle. It said they will oppose any budget move that does not include the House-passed "Secure the Border Act of 2023," address the "weaponization" of the Justice Department and FBI, as well as end "the Left's cancerous woke policies in the Pentagon."

WAPO COLUMNIST ARGUES BIDEN 'TOO OLD' TO RUN AGAIN, SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HUNTER'S 'ATTEMPTS TO IMPRESS CLIENTS'

McCarthy emerged from Thursday morning's contentious meeting and announced that the House will reconvene next week and will not leave until the government has been funded.

McCarthy's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The Republican in-fighting comes just days after McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry against Biden, a long-sought priority for HFC members.

Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report

Speaker McCarthy met with Hakeem Jeffries and vowed to play nice after Pelosi called him a ‘moron’

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was so offended by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling him a "moron" that he met with her successor, Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to make a mutual vow that they would play nice.

Pelosi was dismissive of McCarthy's leadership during his time at the head of the Republican minority, but his relationship with Jeffries has been notably more respectful. The pair are up front with their disagreements, but have not yet resorted to name-calling.

"We’ll continue to agree to disagree without being disagreeable with each other and find common ground when possible, therefore continuing to work together," Jeffries told Punchbowl News on Wednesday. "It remains a positive, forward-looking, communicative relationship."

"I have a great deal of respect for him," McCarthy said of his counterpart. "We’re going to disagree on different issues. I believe based on the information that we have now, the Congress just needs to get more answers. That’s what we’re going about doing," he added, referring to a presidential impeachment inquiry.

'THE VIEW' CO-HOST UPSET BY BIDEN'S AGE 'NARRATIVE': 'HE AIN'T DYING ANYTIME SOON'

"I have worked hard to make sure we have respect for one another. Even when we have, like any relationship, a difference of opinion, I’m going to explain my position to him. He has been very honest and direct with me when he has disagreed, which has been many times. I respect his position. I know what happens today, tomorrow it can be something else," he told Punchbowl.

WAPO COLUMNIST ARGUED BIDEN ‘TOO OLD’ TO RUN AGAIN, SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HUNTER'S ‘ATTEMPTS TO IMPRESS CLIENTS’

Pelosi, who has just announced plans for re-election, hasn't let off the gas on McCarthy, however. She described McCarthy as having an "incredibly shrinking speakership" during an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Sunday.

Pelosi first got on McCarthy's bad side in 2021, in an incident that came when McCarthy slammed a House mask mandate as not following the science.

PEOPLE BORN THE SAME DAY AS BIDEN DEFEND PRESIDENT AMID AGE CONCERNS: '80 IS THE NEW 60'

"Make no mistake – The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state," McCarthy said at the time.

Asked to react to McCarthy's comment at a filmed public event, Pelosi responded: "He's such a moron."

McCarthy and Jeffries' respectful relationship is likely to be tested in the coming months as Republicans get underway with their impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Jeffries has already called the effort "illegitimate."

Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Protesters storm Kevin McCarthy’s office over HIV bill, get dragged out by cops

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Protesters stormed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's Congressional office on Tuesday, demanding that he and other House Republicans re-up funding for an AIDs relief program.

Protesters with Housing Works pressed their way into McCarthy's office and refused to move until Capitol Hill Police arrived and arrested them. The group was demanding a 5-year reauthorization of the PEPFAR global AIDs relief program, which they say has saved "25 million lives."

Images of the incident show protesters sitting on the floor of McCarthy's office and linking arms as bemused staffers remain at their posts.

"We’re proud to use nonviolent civil disobedience, among other tactics, to demand that our government take action to end AIDS," the group wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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

McCarthy's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the incident, but Capitol Police confirmed to Fox News Digital that they arrested seven individuals.

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

"This morning, multiple individuals were demonstrating inside a House Office Building. After the demonstrators refused to cease demonstrating, USCP then arrested the 4 males and 3 females for Unlawful Entry," Capitol Police said in a statement.

Congress has until September 30 to re-up the law guaranteeing funding for the PEPFAR program, but agreement on the issue appears unlikely. The law had previously been renewed on a five-year rolling basis.

The program will still continue if Congress does not renew the law, but its funding will become subject to the annual budget battle.

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

McCarthy is already facing an impending battle over the annual budget as House lawmakers return to the Capitol for the first time in six weeks on Tuesday. 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.

Fox News Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Georgia Judge blocks provision prohibiting the distribution of water at voting polls

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A federal judge in Georgia temporarily blocked a provision in the state's voting law barring people from giving food and water to voters waiting in line to vote on election day, and stopped a requirement that voters include their date of birth on their absentee ballots.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee is still allowing the enforcement of penalties against people who provide food and water to voters waiting in line if they are within 150 feet of the building where voting is taking place. But the judge paused enforcement of the ban in other areas within 25 feet of a voter standing in line.

"Central to this conclusion was the fact that, unlike the Buffer Zone’s reasonable 150-foot radius, the Supplemental Zone has no boundary," he wrote. "S.B. 202 prohibits organizations (such as Plaintiffs) from engaging in line relief activities in the Supplemental Zone, i.e., if they are within twenty-five feet of a voter—even if the organizations are outside the 150-foot Buffer Zone."

Boulee also blocked a part of the law requiring voters to provide their date of birth on the outer envelopes of absentee ballots. He wrote that the state "did not present any evidence that absentee ballots rejected for failure to comply with the Birthdate Requirement were fraudulent ballots."

GEORGIA EARLY VOTING SETS ALL-TIME RECORD FOR MIDTERM ELECTION DESPITE CLAIMS OF VOTER SUPPRESSION

But the judge rejected the groups' claims that certain restrictions imposed by the law deny voters with disabilities meaningful access to absentee voting.

The Election Integrity Act was passed by state lawmakers and signed into law by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp in the spring of 2021. Other provisions in the law include requiring identification to vote, extending the early voting period and ensuring a ballot drop box will be available in every county.

The controversial election law seeking to strengthen voting rules came shortly after the 2020 election and prompted criticism from Democrats and large corporations, including Major League Baseball and Coca-Cola. The MLB moved its 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to the election law.

Critics of the law, including President Biden and twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, claimed it would restrict voting access, particularly for people of color. But Georgia saw record turnout in the primary and general elections in 2022, leading Republicans to argue the criticism was not justified.

Several civil rights and voting rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging the law.

DESANTIS MEETS WITH KEMP AMID TRUMP CASE, IMPEACHMENT CALLS AGAINST FANI WILLIS

Both sides declared victory after Boulee's mixed ruling on Friday.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund assistant counsel John Cusick said in a statement that the decisions "are important wins for our democracy and protecting access to the ballot box in Georgia."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the Peach State "continues to have one of the most secure and accessible voting systems in the country for all voters, including voters with disabilities." 

"I am glad that the court upheld Georgia's common sense rules banning ballot harvesting and securing absentee ballot drop boxes," he said in a news release. "Georgia's voting system is accessible to all voters, with multiple options for voters to choose how they want to exercise their right to vote."

A ruling on Texas' election law, which is similar to the one in Georgia, was also handed down Friday from a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez struck down a provision of Texas' law requiring mail voters to provide the same identification number they used when they registered to vote. He ruled the requirement violated the U.S. Civil Rights Act because it prevented people from being able to cast ballots over an issue irrelevant to whether they are registered.

The provision led to skyrocketing mail ballot rejections in the first election after the law was passed in September 2021, and the U.S. Department of Justice challenged the provision.

"This ruling sends a clear message that states may not impose unlawful and unnecessary requirements that disenfranchise eligible voters seeking to participate in our democracy," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement after the ruling.

Several election integrity bills have passed in GOP-controlled states since 2020 after the election that year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Texas lawsuit seeks at least $17M in Medicaid reimbursements from Planned Parenthood

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A Texas lawsuit is aiming to require Planned Parenthood to return millions of dollars in Medicaid payments for health services and even more money in fines.

A hearing was set for Tuesday in front of U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk as the state seeks to recoup at least $17 million from nation's largest abortion provider, according to The Associated Press. Earlier this year, Kacsmaryk invalidated FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

The case against Planned Parenthood does not center around abortion, which has been banned in Texas with exceptions for risk to the mother's life since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Planned Parenthood claims the lawsuit is a new effort to weaken the organization after years of laws from Republicans that pulled funding and restricted how its clinics operate.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. SAYS HE MISUNDERSTOOD ABORTION QUESTION, DOES NOT SUPPORT ANY FEDERAL BAN

The organization received money for health services before it was removed from Texas' Medicaid program in 2021. The state had started attempting to remove Planned Parenthood four years earlier and now seeks repayment for services billed during that time.

"This baseless case is an active effort to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers," Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Alexis McGill Johnson said.

Texas filed the lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act, which allows fines for every alleged improper payment. According to Planned Parenthood, this could result in a judgment in excess of $1 billion.

The lawsuit was brought last year by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is temporarily suspended from office as he awaits an impeachment trial next month over allegations of bribery and abuse of office.

Last year, Paxton said it was "unthinkable that Planned Parenthood would continue to take advantage of funding knowing they were not entitled to keep it."

Planned Parenthood has roughly three dozen clinics in Texas, but one closed following the historic SCOTUS ruling that allowed states to make their own laws regarding abortion access.

Former federal prosecutor Jacob Elberg, who specialized in health care fraud, said he believes Texas' case is weak, adding that the federal False Claims Act is the state's most powerful tool against health fraud.

Other cases involving this law in recent years were brought against a health records company in Florida, which paid $45 million to resolve allegations of improperly generating sales, and a Montana health clinic that submitted false asbestos claims.

IOWA MAN FOUND NOT GUILTY AFTER DRIVING INTO CROWD OF ANTI-ABORTION PROTESTERS IN EFFORT TO PROTECT FAMILY

Elberg, now the faculty director at Seton Hall Law School's Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law, said it is difficult to understand how Planned Parenthood was knowingly filing false claims while it was in court fighting to stay in the program and Texas was still paying the reimbursements.

"This just isn't what the False Claims Act is supposed to be about," Elberg said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to where we stand with impeachment

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There is something of an impeachment furor in Washington.

But only among some Republicans. 

There’s hubbub about Hunter Biden’s now nullified plea deal. Questions about whether Hunter Biden used his father for business access. 

The House is out of session for nearly another month. But that didn’t stop Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., from introducing four articles of impeachment for the President himself. 

BIDEN REPEATEDLY CLAIMED HUNTER DID 'NOTHING WRONG' PRIOR TO SPECIAL COUNSEL APPOINTMENT

One article of impeachment alleges the President sold access when he was Vice President. A second article suggests collusion between the president’s 2020 campaign and the Justice Department to hide alleged tax crimes by Hunter Biden and shield him from legal jeopardy. A third article purports fraud by Biden family businesses. The fourth article claims the Biden family finances helped fuel drug transactions and even prostitution.

"It is long past due to start the impeachment process," said Steube on Fox.

President Biden conceded he helped block assistance to Ukraine when he served as Vice President unless Kyiv fired prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Shokin was investigating the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma. 

Republicans suggest a quid pro quo.

"We know the quo happened," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., on Fox. "The only question for bribery is the quid. Did that oligarch pay Joe and Hunter $10 million? $5 million for Joe. $5 million for Hunter. If yes, that’s bribery. And Biden should be impeached. He should be removed from office. He should be prosecuted. And he should go to jail."

There’s a push by the hard right for impeachment now. Some conservatives are growing tired of the behind-the-scenes "transcribed interviews" and various letters written to Biden-related figures by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. They want action. The measured pace of Congress doesn’t match the political realities of ultra-conservative, Republican districts which have nothing but disdain for President Biden.

"What you're seeing is the frustration of some of our supporters," conceded Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., on Fox. "But yes, at some point, as (House) Speaker (Kevin) McCarthy, R-Calif., said before we left for the district work period, an impeachment inquiry is called for here."

However, that’s not exactly what the Speaker said.

BERNIE SANDERS PUSHING CAMPAIGN CASH TO WIFE AND STEPSON'S NONPROFIT RAISES 'LEGITIMATE CONCERN': WATCHDOG

On two different occasions on Fox last month, McCarthy teased an impeachment inquiry (remember that specific term) for both Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Biden. An impeachment "inquiry" is miles from impeachment. But it’s important that the Speaker began to mention impeachment. After all, that’s what many anti-Biden voters and Freedom Caucus members needed to hear: the I-word. McCarthy’s verbiage amplified the potential for impeachment – because it’s coming from the Speaker. But it also served as a trial balloon for McCarthy to see if he could get his members in a place to push for impeachment. That would begin with an "impeachment inquiry." A formal impeachment inquiry requires an actual vote by the full House of Representatives. It gives the House more authority to call for witnesses and conduct depositions. 

But the House can’t formally begin an impeachment inquiry without voting to do so. And it’s far from clear if Republicans – with a four seat majority and 18 House Republicans representing districts carried by the President – would ever have the votes to go down this path.

But there may have been a rhetorical sleight-of-mouth by McCarthy. 

The mere fact that McCarthy mentioned "impeachment" – inquiry or not – may have helped McCarthy get in front of a push for impeachment by House conservatives and not seem like he was lagging behind. 

In late July, McCarthy made sure the Congressional press corps understood precisely what he said about impeachment – even if some conservative voters heard what they wanted, without the nuance. 

"I didn’t say I was doing an impeachment inquiry," said McCarthy. "I said if they didn’t provide us the information, that could rise to an impeachment inquiry."

However, some Republicans are reluctant to rush into the impeachment maelstrom. 

"Inquiry" or otherwise.

SPECIAL COUNSEL ‘LESS THAN IDEAL’ FOR THE WHITE HOUSE AHEAD OF 2024: STEPHEN NEUKAM

"An inquiry and impeachment vote is too soon as I've stated," said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Fox Business. "I don’t think we’re there just yet. But I do believe that we will be at some point later this year."

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., also weighed in on Steube’s gambit during an appearance on Fox. 

"Is it premature? To me, it is," said Issa. "We’re a long way from the conspiracy that should and possibly need to be investigated. And we should do an investigation."

However, Issa noted one potential hurdle. 


"The last thing I would want today is a vote on impeachment in the House that would die in the Senate," said Issa.

That echoes something similar that Comer said to Fox in late July. 

It’s unclear if this commentary about the Senate failing to convict the president is a GOP escape hatch for Republicans who want to talk about impeachment, have revved up their base about impeachment, but know that actually executing impeachment – inquiry or otherwise, is challenging. 

It’s all about the math.

Republicans sport a reed-thin, four-seat majority in the House. It’s a roll of the dice to determine if Republicans would ever have the votes to begin an impeachment inquiry – or actually impeach the President. 

And it’s really about the math in the Senate.

The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote to convict and remove the president. That’s 67 votes. Republicans only have 49 votes right now. The Senate could never get there.

Thus, a potential escape hatch? 

But the pressure is going to be on McCarthy in the late summer and early fall to do something on impeachment. 

"McCarthy has shown over this last eight or nine months that he’s been in charge that he does not have a whole lot of grip over his own caucus," said David Cohen, political science professor at the University of Akron. "McCarthy’s going to have to give in to the conservatives in his party. I don’t know that he has a choice if he wants to remain Speaker."

It would be risky for McCarthy to forge ahead on impeachment. And, it may be risky for McCarthy not to forge ahead on impeachment.

History may not repeat itself. But it sure does rhyme.

Voters punished Republicans 25 years ago for impeaching former President Clinton. Voters believed the impeachment wasn’t warranted.

It’s unclear where middle-of-the-road voters are on impeachment this year. The GOP campaigned on fixing the supply chain and the economy. Not impeachment. 

When Republicans impeached Mr. Clinton in 1998, the president had very high approval ratings. That’s not the case with President Biden. And that’s why this impeachment dynamic may be harder to figure out.

Biden takes leisurely bike ride at Delaware vacation home as Hunter Biden scandal surges

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President Biden embarked on a leisurely bike ride with Secret Service agents and a golf cart full of medical staffers in Delaware on Wednesday.

Biden pedaled past reporters with the White House press corps who were holding position near the trail. The ride comes as the president faces a growing scandal relating to his involvement in his son Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and elsewhere.

"How are ya?" Biden shouted to reporters in a jovial tone as he passed them by Wednesday.

Biden was followed by a single Secret Service agent on a bike. A train of other bikers and golf carts also trailed behind him, carrying other agents and medical staffers.

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Biden's stay in Delaware this week comes after former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer testified in a closed door congressional meeting on Monday.

Archer spoke with House Oversight staff for roughly five hours, telling lawmakers that Biden was on the phone with Hunter's business partners at least 20 times over a 10-year period. Republicans argue the testimony shows culpability for Biden, who has said multiple times that he has never discussed nor participated in business with his son.

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Democrats have sought to dismiss the testimony, however, arguing that Biden may have spoken on the phone with Hunter's business partners, but he did not participate in their dealings.

"Like many people, Hunter spoke with his father every day and would often put his father, occasionally would put his father on to say hello to whomever he happened to be caught at dinner with, and Mr. Archer clarified that was sometimes people that they were having, you know, they were trying to do business with, and it was sometimes friends or other social engagements," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said on CNN this week.

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Republican critics argue Biden was assisting Hunter's deals by taking the phone calls, which reinforced Hunter's impression that he could influence his father's policy decisions.