Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., a member of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, echoed Rep.’s comments. Marjorie Taylor Greene dismissed a timeline for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as ‘absurd’ during an interview on “Inside with Jen Psaki” on Sunday.
In a video posted online Last month, Greene said she will not support any measure to fund the government before the September 30 deadline until the House of Representatives votes to formally launch an impeachment inquiry into the president. Green, however, changed her tone in a message to Xformerly known as Twitter, this past weekend: “Our country deserves to see Congress vote for an impeachment inquiry for very important reasons, not a hasty impeachment vote.”
When asked by Psaki to respond to Greene’s shift in timeline on a vote to begin an impeachment inquiry into Biden, Buck noted that the far-right lawmaker first filed articles of impeachment on Biden shortly after he was sworn inadding that “the idea that she is now the expert on impeachment or that she is someone who should determine the timing for impeachment is absurd.”
“The time for impeachment is the time when there is evidence linking President Biden – if there is evidence linking President Biden to a serious crime or misdemeanor. That doesn’t exist at the moment,” he says. “And it is really something where we can say: we are going to do this in February. It is based on the facts. You go where the facts take you.”
Buck then argued that Republicans should not prioritize impeachment, citing the multiple congressional committees that are investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings but have not found a “strong connection” to the president at this time.
Buck went on to discuss the “perfect storm” facing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he tries to pass a short-term spending bill and move forward with an impeachment vote for Biden. McCarthy’s right-wing members are rebelling against an emergency bill to prevent a government shutdown and buy more time for negotiations with the Senate.
“On the one hand, we need to adopt a continuing resolution,” he said. “We also have the impeachment issue. And we also have members of the House of Representatives, led by my good friend Chip Roy, who are concerned about policy issues. They want to cooperate with the appropriations laws, changes in the appropriations laws that will ensure some kind of security at our southern border.”
“So when you put those things together, Kevin McCarthy, the speaker, has made promises to different groups on each of these issues. And now it all comes at the same time,” he added, noting the difficulty of passing a continuing resolution with only Republican votes. “And so I think if he reaches the other side of the aisle and gets Democratic votes that come with a higher number than he previously promised, I think that’s the issue that I think will cause him problems in the long run will deliver.”
However, Buck predicted that McCarthy would ultimately retain his speakership despite the challenges posed by the lack of people willing to step up and take his job.
“I don’t see anyone else who has really risen up and is willing to take on this task,” he said. “Having a majority of five votes is something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy as Speaker of the US House of Representatives. And so it’s very difficult for him to run the House in a way that keeps everyone happy.”
“I think there will be challenges, but I don’t see anyone standing up and saying, I’m taking Kevin’s job,” he added. “So I think Kevin is really saved by someone else’s lack of enthusiasm to get the job done.”
Buck’s comments come months after he confirmed Greene’s expulsion from the House Freedom Caucus, citing her repeated “attacks” on GOP colleagues.
His comments also come as the White House is setting up a war room to lead a response to a Republican investigation into Biden’s impeachment, NBC News previously reported.
Biden’s aides and allies have said they are preparing to roll back an impeachment inquiry as a partisan attack.
The White House’s preparations for impeachment began when Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives this year. But McCarthy has suggested the House is moving closer to an impeachment inquiry, calling it a “natural step forward.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
