Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call and Sean Gallup via Getty Images
House Republicans are plowing ahead toward a partial government shutdown amid conservative grumbling about Speaker Mike Johnson's dealmaking abilities. At the same time, the party is already juggling two potential impeachment pushes.
Now, Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Montana Republican, has filed the first step toward a potential impeachment of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, making him the third potential Biden administration official to face the prospect. Rosendale's articles cite the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over most of the continental US last year, not Austin's unexpected hospitalization the latter of which has sparked a political firestorm. (The Pentagon said as a matter of policy, it does not comment on proposed legislation.
On Wednesday, Republicans are hearing whether Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached over a record number of migrants crossing the southern border.
According to The Washington Post, even this might not be the end of it. Rep. James Comer, who leads the powerful House Oversight Committee, has floated impeaching Attorney General Merrick Garland if Garland doesn't bring charges against Hunter Biden if the House holds the president's son in contempt. Comer has said Biden must be held in contempt for defying a subpoena to testify before his panel. Biden has said he only wants to testify in a public hearing, which is not what Republicans offered.
If you're keeping score at home, that's one president and three different Cabinet officials that could be impeached. There are so many impeachments that Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wasn't sure if his panel could handle two impeachments at once. Historically, the Judiciary Committee leads an impeachment inquiry, but there is no constitutional requirement for such a step.
At the same, Congress has real work it must complete.
Lawmakers have two deadlines to avert partial government shutdowns in the weeks ahead. The first potential shutdown would be on Jan. 19, covering roughly 20% of the federal government, per The Post. Johnson championed this two-track plan to split a full government shutdown into smaller chunks shortly after his unexpected rise to the speakership.
Johnson demonstrated progress toward averting these catastrophes by striking a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for over $1.5 trillion in federal spending for the rest of the fiscal year. This agreement is the necessary first step to passing the spending bills that are needed to avert a shutdown.
But conservatives are not happy. Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, has mused about removing Johnson from power. While Rep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, chimed in that the speaker, "currently the speaker has no plan except to surrender."
Johnson defended the agreement, pointing out that there's only so much he can do when his party holds what for the moment is effectively a one-seat majority.
"We'll be down to a one-vote margin, Hugh," Johnson told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday. "So we have to deal in the realm of reality. We only control one half of one-third of the federal government, right?"
The top Republican's words are also a great reminder of why this current impeachment push is unlikely to go anywhere. With the possible exception of Mayorkas, centrist Republicans have expressed unease with other impeachment pushes. Conservatives won't be able to impeach anyone without their colleagues' support.
Even if an official is impeached, some Senate Republicans have previously expressed unease about how commonplace impeachment is becoming.
