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With just a little over a week to go before the November midterms, speculation has risen that Republicans will only increase their attempts to impeach President Joe Biden and several other members of his administration should they retake control of the House.
These often far-fetched impeachment attempts are nothing new. The Republican Party has already launched more impeachment resolutions against Biden or his administration since January 3, 2021, than the Democrats did during former President Donald Trump's entire term in office.
House Republicans have introduced 14 impeachment resolutions against Biden or his administration as of October—all of which have been non-starters.
Eric J. Segall, professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law said that it's "very likely" that the GOP will continue to launch further unmerited impeachment attempts against Biden and others as part of "tit for tat" revenge for Trump, who became the first president to be impeached by the House twice before being cleared both times in the Senate.
"There is no reasonable argument that any of those people [in Biden administration] have committed a high crime or misdemeanor," Segall told Newsweek. "There were very reasonable arguments that Trump did commit high crimes and misdemeanors. So it's a false equivalence."
In order to speculate who the Republicans are planning to hit with fresh impeachment articles in a GOP-controlled House, all you have to do is look at those officials that they already attempted to remove from office.
Joe Biden
The GOP, in particular Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, has already attempted to launch impeachment hearings against Biden for a number of reasons, all of which have been non-starters.
These nine impeachment resolutions include a "dereliction of duty in Afghanistan" after the withdrawal in August resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a suicide blast at the Kabul airport, as well as causing a "national security crisis" on the Southern border because of rising immigration figures.
On her first day in office in January 2021, Greene filed an article of impeachment against Biden for "enabled bribery" in regard to allegations surrounding his son Hunter Biden's business dealings when the Democrat was vice president.
Greene launched her latest impeachment attempt against Biden in September for "endangering, compromising, and undermining the energy security" of the U.S. by selling oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve to foreign nations—a practice which was also carried out by the Trump administration.
It's unknown what will trigger any future attempt to impeach, but the continuing controversy surrounding Hunter Biden may be all the cause the GOP needs to file further resolutions.
Kamala Harris
If the GOP's attempts to impeach Biden continue to falter, they could also go after his next in command.
To date, only Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert has launched the impeachment process against Kamala Harris, accusing the vice president of being "complicit" in the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Harris, who was tasked to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S. southern border, could also face renewed GOP impeachment attempts should the party further attempt to blame her for the rising immigration levels.
Merrick Garland
While not part of the White House, the attorney general in the Democrat-controlled Department of Justice is often cited by the GOP for alleged partisanship, as well as the launching of criminal investigations into Trump.
In June, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan told The Washington Times that the GOP is working on getting "all the facts right now," before deciding what the "appropriate action" against Garland should be in regard to potential impeachment resolutions.
"We're focused on getting the truth for the American people," Jordan said.
Unsurprisingly, Greene has attempted to impeach Garland for "endangering, compromising and undermining" the justice system in the wake of the FBI searching Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort for classified documents.
Boebert also filed impeachment articles against the attorney general for apparent "politicization of the Justice Department" after the FBI raided Trump's Florida home.
Segall said that unlike the two impeachment hearings against Trump, the resolution attempts toward Garland over the search for classified documents removed from the White House are "illegitimate."
"There is no argument that Garland or Biden, or Harris or anyone did anything wrong by investigating and getting a warrant and taking those documents back," Segall told Newsweek. "They shouldn't have been there. Full stop."
Last October, Pennsylvania Representative Scott Perry introduced a resolution to impeach Garland for "high crimes and misdemeanors" over the disputed claim the attorney general agreed that protesting the teaching of critical race theory in schools should be considered a form of "domestic terrorism," as suggested in a letter written by the National School Boards Association (NSBA).
Antony Blinken
Just like Biden, GOP lawmakers have introduced impeachment articles for Secretary of State Blinken over the withdrawal from Afghanistan as it was being retaken by the Taliban in August 2021.
Representatives Andy Harris of Maryland and Ralph Norman of South Carolina accused Blinken at the time of being part of "predictable, yet egregiously inexcusable failures of planning, execution, and leadership" which resulted in the deaths of American lives in Afghanistan.
Should the GOP regain control of the House, there could yet be more attempts from lawmakers to file further filings against the secretary of state in the hope a vote would pass the House.
Alejandro Mayorkas
Another White House figure who may face further impeachment attempts is Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In October, Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham warned that Mayorkas' "gross dereliction of duty" over his handling of the southern border could be grounds for impeachment.
"These astronomically high numbers are due in no small part to the political decision to rescind a number of President Trump's policies that were stemming the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs across the southern border," Cruz and Graham said in a letter to Mayorkas.
Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs also introduced impeachment filings in August 2021 for "high crimes and misdemeanors" related to Mayorkas' actions regarding border security and immigration.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more