LIVE: House Democratic Leadership Speaks on Biden’s Impeachment Inquiry

Three MAGA Republicans have launched an illegitimate impeachment inquiry that is a kangaroo court, fishing exposition, and conspiracy theater rolled into one. There is not a shred of evidence that President Joe Biden has engaged in wrongdoing. There is not a shred of evidence that President Joe Biden has committed an impeachable offense. There is not a shred of evidence that President Joe Biden has committed a crime. This is an illegitimate impeachment inquiry. Period. Full stop. It's a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Extreme MAGA Republicans have no economic agenda. They have no housing agenda. They have no health care agenda. They have no education agenda. They have no public safety agenda. They have no agenda designed to address the needs of the American people. We were sent to Washington D.C. to improve the quality of life of everyday Americans. The extreme MAGA Republicans are determined to illegitimately investigate the president as part of an ideological crusade that week after week after week continues to do nothing more than try and jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people. President Joe Biden is a good man. He's an honest man. He's a patriotic man. House Democrats will defend President Biden today. We will defend President Biden tomorrow. We will defend President Biden next week. We will defend President Biden next month. We will defend President Biden next year. We will defend Biden until the very end. As the leader has said, this impeachment is based on no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden, but it's all the evidence we need to show that Kevin McCarthy has lost control of the gavel. With this announcement today, he has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Republican conference is controlled by conspiracy theorists devoid of reasonable voices that are coming here to govern and solve problems. Donald Trump is the ultimate puppet master. Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling the shots. They ignored their constituents and they have purged their ranks of anyone who could call themselves a moderate. If there were moderates left, where are they? Why haven't they demanded a vote? Why haven't they come out and called this a distraction, a gross political stunt? Why? Because mega extremists are running the house. Six weeks ago, Kevin McCarthy sent the house home without a plan to keep the federal government open for business. Now we have just days to fund the government for the American people. But instead of getting to work, instead of thinking about the brave firefighters who need to get paid as they battle wildfires across this country, our heroic troops who deserve a paycheck for their service, the communities that need disaster aid, the seniors that depend on government service. He has launched a sham impeachment inquiry rooted in faceless, discredited lies. There is no evidence, none. And when Republicans are asked about it, they dance around the question. So what's the origin story of today's announcement January 3rd, when the extremists dangled the speakership in front of Kevin McCarthy and he sold out. Those extremists have pushed us to the edge of economic disaster with the manufactured default prices. When we came together in an agreement to save our economy before the ink was even dry, McCarthy once again succumbed to pressure and reneged. Then he sent us home for six weeks, just having passed one of 12 appropriations bills. And now here we are, just days ago, he vowed to hold a vote for an inquiry. But the leaders of the MAGA Republican Conference are not here to serve the American people or improve their lives or brighten their future. There is no agenda except chaos and division. They are only interested in advancing MAGA extremism. But whatever distractions they manufacture, Democrats are here to do our jobs. We are here to grow the economy by growing the middle class. And that's what we'll continue to do. And now I yield to our incredible caucus chair, Pete Aguilar. Thank you so much, Whip Clark. Here we are again, nine months later, chaos, confusion, dysfunction, that's how this Congress started. When we nominated Leader Jeffrey 15 times, the chaos on the other side, the deals that had to be cut, that's who the Republican Conference is. House Democrats aren't going to be distracted. We're going to continue to talk about the important agenda that we've laid out, creating 13 million jobs with the Biden-Harris administration, implementing landmark pieces of legislation, lifting up the middle class. Those are the things that the American public wants us to talk about. And those are the things that we will continue to deliver. This Republican Conference is solely about chaos, confusion, and the performance of a few personalities. My three-tailed green man, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy had dinner, they broke bread, the voters fought, all of this. The House Republican wants to carry his boat in the water and do his bidding. Our focus is going to be the American people. Our focus is not on the politics of Donald Trump. That's not who we are. That's not what the American people want us to focus. We have a responsibility as members of Congress to make sure that we are funding the government to provide for the health, the safety, and the economic well-being of the American people. And launching this illegitimate impeachment inquiry is certainly a distraction. Instead of focusing on doing the business of the American people, extreme MAGA Republicans are doing the bidding of their puppet master-in-chief, Donald Trump. When Donald Trump says, jump, the extreme MAGA Republicans say, how high? Leading the charge in this House Republican Conference right now are extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Sanford. They are driving the train right now in doing the bidding, of course, of Donald Trump. And it's unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation. As both Catherine and Pete indicated, House Democrats are going to continue to partner with President Biden to make life better for everyday Americans, to grow the middle class, to build an economy from the middle out and from the bottom up, and to continue to tackle problems on behalf of the American people. And it's our hope that just a handful of responsible Republicans on the other side, instead of engaging in this malignant impeachment theater, will partner with House Democrats to get things done for everyday Americans. Well, the motion to vacate question is a hypothetical one that's not before us. We've had no discussion about it, and I don't expect us to have any discussion about it moving forward. House Democrats are going to continue to focus on our fundamental responsibility of putting people over politics, fighting for lower costs, for better paying jobs, for safer communities, for reproductive freedom, defending democracy, building an economy that works for everyday Americans. Extreme right Republicans are wasting time and taxpayer dollars with this illegitimate impeachment inquiry that's quite unfortunate. They're going to have to work out their own internal poisonous partisan political dynamics. House Democrats are going to continue to focus on the business of the American people. We have not had a discussion about a motion to discharge with respect to anything connected to funding the government. We have responsibility to fund the government. There was an agreement that was reached that House Republicans negotiated with President Biden. So we shouldn't even be in this situation of a possible government shutdown. But that tells you how extreme the MAGA Republicans are in the House right now. Extreme MAGA Republicans are determined to shut the government down, crash the economy, or alternatively jam their right wing ideology down the throats of the American people. We will not be paying any right wing ransom notes. Period. Full stop. It's not happening. And so this reckless legislative joyride that the extremists are trying to take the American people on, which may end in a government shutdown that will hurt the American people, hurt business, and hurt the economy, falls squarely at the feet of the extremists in the House Republican conference. And it's our hope that some common sense will prevail. But as Katherine Clark indicated, there are no moderates left in the House Republican conference. They talk a good game, but at the end of the day, they all do the same exact thing. Bend the knee to Donald Trump. Thank you, everyone.