GOP plan to impeach Joe Biden faltering

REPUBLICANS have quietly signalled they may drop plans to impeach Joe Biden, admitting it may not be “the best path” to challenge the US president.

The months-long effort to investigate Mr Biden and his family’s business dealings have failed to produce evidence of wrongdoing so far.

With the GOP’s slim majority in the House of Representatives narrowed by early retirements this week, the party likely does not have enough appetite to pursue articles of impeachment.

Jim Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which has been leading the inquiry, admitted it was likely to end without a vote on the proceedings.

“I would vote to impeach Joe Biden right now,” Mr Comer told NewsMax, but went on to explain the obstacles such a vote would face in Congress. Mr Comer said the “best path to accountability” was now criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.

The committee has claimed the Biden family, including the president’s son Hunter, traded on the family name in an alleged influence-peddling scheme to link a handful of phone calls or meetings between the elder Mr Biden, his son and his business associates.

However, Mr Comer’s probe was mired in controversy after it emerged it relied largely on unverified claims by an FBI informant, who was later arrested on charges of fabricating the allegations and said he was in touch with Russia.

While it appears to have fizzled out, Mr Comer continues to defend the impeachment inquiry. Mr Comer made a last-ditch push this week to seek testimony from Mr Biden, 81, saying he was either “complicit or incompetent” in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings.

Ian Sams, a White House spokesman, told Republicans to “call it a day” and focus on “real issues” Americans want addressed. He said: “This is a sad stunt at the end of a dead impeachment.”