Republican lawmakers are looking to bring new articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden after the White House threatened to withhold some aid to Israel. Biden has shifted his approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stating that he would withhold sending weapons to the Israel Defense Forces if they might be used in an assault on Rafah, Gaza. Some Republicans have accused Biden of withholding the weapons shipment to help his reelection chances and have started drafting impeachment articles claiming that he abused his powers by soliciting a “quid pro quo” with Israel.
Florida GOP Congressman Cory Mills has begun drafting the impeachment articles against Biden, citing the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection. House GOP lawmakers have led a months-long impeachment inquiry into Biden over accusations of a bribery scheme while he was vice president under the Obama administration, but have not found any specific crimes or direct links to foreign business dealings by his son, Hunter Biden. Democrats have dismissed the impeachment threat, with the White House official stating that the aid packages being withheld from Israel are separate from the supplemental spending package passed by Congress.
President Joe Biden’s decision to withhold weapons shipments to Israel has raised questions about whether it constitutes a high crime and misdemeanor, the threshold for bringing articles of impeachment against a president. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise criticized Biden for walking away from Israel, the country’s strongest ally in the Middle East, and accused him of trying to appease the pro-Hamas wing of his party. However, there is debate over whether walking away from an ally constitutes a crime that warrants impeachment, with Republicans pushing for Biden to deliver the aid to Israel despite his decision.
The draft impeachment articles against Biden accuse him of abusing his powers by soliciting a “quid pro quo” with Israel and copying large parts of Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler’s articles used in the impeachment of former President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. While Biden has faced pressure to change his approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict from left-leaning members of his party and key parts of the Democratic electorate, the White House has dismissed the calls for impeachment as irrelevant to the aid packages being withheld from Israel.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton has supported the impeachment of Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent and criticized Democrats for not taking action against Biden for his actions regarding Israel. Scalise has emphasized the importance of standing with Israel, even if Biden walks away, and has called for delivering the aid to the country. The debate over whether Biden’s actions constitute a high crime and misdemeanor and the push for impeachment continue to be topics of discussion among Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
