Rep. Omar: Kevin McCarthy has Turned the House of Representatives into a Vindictive Campaign Arm of Donald Trump

WASHINGTON—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), released the following statement on Kevin McCarthy opening an impeachment inquiry

“This is a new low in House Republicans’ failure to govern. Instead of doing anything to address rising housing costs, raise the minimum wage, tackle child poverty or address the opioid crisis, Republicans have threatened to the plunge the nation into default and are now once again pushing the government to the brink of a shutdown. It’s no wonder this Congress has been the least productive in decades.

“Their only goal, it seems, is pleasing their master—the disgraced, twice impeached, four times indicted former President currently facing 91 state and federal criminal charges. This is an unprecedented crime spree, from endangering national security by illegally keeping classified documents, to conspiring to subvert the U.S. Constitution and lying to federal investigators.

“Instead of even attempting to govern, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republicans have done everything in their power to run interference for the disgraced former President. They have turned the United States House of Representatives into a vindictive political campaign arm of Donald Trump. 

“Now Donald Trump and the most extreme members of the MAGA Caucus are pushing a government shutdown if they don’t impeach the sitting President—despite zero evidence to justify such an inquiry. Republicans have already wasted months on a fishing expedition to tie President Biden to the wrongdoing of his adult son, and it has failed. Despite thousands of pages of bank records and hours and hours of testimony, they have failed to produce a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden.

“And the hypocrisy almost takes your breath away. Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly said you cannot start an impeachment inquiry without a full vote of the House—and even introduced a resolution that condemns an impeachment inquiry without a House vote as an ‘abuse of power’ that ‘brings discredit to the House’ and ‘undermines the voting privileges afforded to each Member and the constituents they represent.’ Yet that is exactly what Kevin McCarthy is doing today. Why? Because he knows impeachment is too extreme to pass the House—even with the Republican majority.

“Last Congress, the majority of House Republicans voted to overturn the Presidential election results—supporting the violent insurrectionists who threatened our lives and democracy itself. Now they are disgracing this institution once more, abusing the power vested in us by the Constitution to campaign for a criminal.”