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Hard-right House Republicans, led by Representative Lauren Boebert, are eager to impeach President Joe Biden, but those plans may not lead to political victory. Instead, it could give the Democrats a boost ahead of the 2024 election.
On Thursday, Boebert and her allies forced a vote on her impeachment resolution to charge Biden with "high crimes and misdemeanors" for his handling of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Although it passed in a 219-208 party-line vote, the measure will now go to committees—which have no obligation to act on the resolution—for possible consideration.
The move to push for impeachment, however, may not only serve as a distraction from other GOP priorities but end up helping Biden, since "people rally around their partisan flags" in the current polarized political climate, political scientist John Pitney told Newsweek.
"Unless congressional Republicans produce hard evidence of serious misconduct, any impeachment effort will backfire," Pitney said. "GOP attacks will strengthen Democratic support for Biden. Independent voters will doubt that Republicans are serious about governing."
Presidential impeachments have done little to dent the reputation of the commander-in-chief.
A Pew Research Center survey taken shortly after then-President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings for lying under oath about a sexual relationship with a White House intern found that the Democrat saw a 10 percent boost in his approval ratings from before the scandal broke.
Donald Trump, who was impeached twice during his four years in office, also benefited from a surge in support. His 2020 campaign found an additional 10.1 million supporters and he remains the frontrunner in the crowded GOP field for the 2024 nomination. General election polls also show that the former president still has strong odds against defeating Biden in a second matchup.
But, an effort to impeach Biden over his immigration policies could upend the race, and not for the better for Republicans.
"Impeaching anyone—when understood to be anything other than "high crimes and misdemeanors—is a fool's errand," Republican strategist Alex Patton told Newsweek.
"Other than clickbait fundraising headlines, this only serves as another 'getting too far over your skis' moment and continues to make the case to swing, general election voters that a large swath of the GOP is a sect driven by absurd theatre and unserious people," Patton said, adding that he found it "extremely frustrating to see these futile, counter-productive efforts and repeated self-inflicted wounds."
Boebert's impeachment resolution also comes a day after Representative Anna Paulina Luna used the same method to force a vote that censured Democratic Representative Adam Schiff for leading the investigation into former President Donald Trump's ties to Russia.
Political consultant Jay Townsend told Newsweek that if Boebert was able to impeach Biden, the president would "be the beneficiary, as was Adam Schiff, who this week received an invaluable contribution to his Senate campaign in California."
Schiff is currently running to replace the vacancy that Senator Dianne Feinstein will leave upon her retirement.
"In private, Kevin McCarthy would probably admit there are no grounds to impeach President Biden, and that doing so would make the GOP caucus look like a bunch of partisan hacks," Townsend said.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more