Key events
Top Republican threatens to impeach Garland over Hunter Biden case
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Since January, when the new Republican majority took their seats in the House of Representatives, the GOP’s most extreme lawmakers have been threatening to use the chamber’s powers to impeach various officials in Joe Biden’s cabinet – if not the president himself. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has generally demurred when it comes to supporting these proposals, but over the weekend, he pivoted, and threatened to open up impeachment proceedings targeting the attorney general, Merrick Garland.
The cause of the speaker’s ire was a deal reached last week with the president’s son Hunter Biden to resolve a criminal investigation against him. Republicans have decried it as a “sweetheart deal”, and say they’ve heard claims of political interference from whistleblowers. Though House lawmakers are on recess for the next two weeks, we’ll be keeping an eye out today for more reaction to what could be a new Republican offensive against the Biden administration.
Here’s what else is going on today:
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Biden will at 11.45am eastern time today speak about his efforts to expand high-speed internet access, as part of a push to promote his economic record and turn around his ailing poll numbers as his re-election campaign kicks into gear.
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This is the final week for the supreme court to issue decisions in outstanding cases, and verdicts concerning Biden’s student loan relief program, affirmative action and other closely watched topics are possible starting Tuesday.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters at 2pm today.