Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called the GOP House-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden a "continuation of the [Jan. 6] insurrection" during an interview Sunday.
"Many of [Kevin] McCarthy's folks go to the January 6 prisoners and visit them to give them comfort and aid, and so they've never accepted President Biden as a legitimate president," Swalwell said to MSNBC host Jen Psaki. "And this week, even as we are hurtling toward a shutdown, they'll hold impeachment proceedings, which is just a continuation of the insurrection — and so this is all about just putting Donald Trump in charge."
Psaki asked Swalwell — who sat on the Jan. 6 House committee — what he thinks of former PresidentTrump’s purported role in the House’s decisions. The Democrat congressman said, "Donald Trump and McCarthy and the other pro-insurrection Republicans have never accepted Joe Biden as the president."
"The House, unfortunately, has become a law firm with just one client, Donald Trump," he said.
The House is probing Biden’s foreign business ties with his son, Hunter, in Ukraine and China. Republicans hope to unearth bribery negotiations that suggest Biden leveraged his position as then-vice president under former President Obama for personal gain.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the inquiry alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.
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House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will hold their first impeachment inquiry hearing to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power against President Biden on Thursday.
"Kevin McCarthy is a spectator speaker. He may have the title, but Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, they all share the job," Swalwell said.
Swalwell’s comments come as time is ticking in the House to reach a spending deal before funds run out from the previous fiscal year and the government shuts down on Saturday.
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Meanwhile, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on CNN’s "State of the Union" he would "look strongly at" ousting McCarthy from speakership if he doesn’t pass the 12 appropriation bills needed to fund the government.
"They're all talking about this promise that he made with Biden a year ago — what about the promise we made to the American public that we were going to be responsible Americans?" Burchett asked CNN host Dana Bash.
