The House will vote this week on a pair of resolutions impeaching President Biden and censuring Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Why it matters: Both measures were introduced by members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, who have proven increasingly willing to try to force votes that could divide their party.
That was demonstrated last week, when 20 Republicans helped to kill an iteration of the Schiff censure last week that included a $16 million fine.
Driving the news: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) introduced a privileged motion on Tuesday to force a vote on her two articles of impeachment against Biden.
The resolution charges Biden with abuse of power and dereliction of duty over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), meanwhile, is making another run — without the fine — at passing her resolution to censure Schiff over his claims about former President Trump’s ties to Russia.
The state of play: While Luna’s resolution appears to have the votes to pass now that she has removed the fine, Boebert’s resolution is treading into uncharted territory.
Some centrist and swing-district Republicans have balked at the idea of impeaching Biden’s cabinet secretaries, let alone Biden himself, without clear evidence of wrongdoing.
“I don’t think that impeachment is something that should be taken lightly,” Biden-district Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told Axios last week. “I think the House should only impeach when it is likely … to have the votes in the House and the Senate.”
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) forced two such votes against then-President Trump in 2017 and 2018, though most Democrats joined Republicans in voting against his resolutions.
What we’re watching: Luna pushing her Schiff censure appears to have opened the floodgates for right-wing lawmakers to pursue similar efforts, with or without buy-in from GOP leadership.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has introduced a slew of impeachment resolutions against Biden and his officials, told Politico she plans to force votes on them as well.
