House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday would not commit to impeaching President Joe Biden and explained that GOP lawmakers will not use impeachment for "political purposes" like he says Democrats did when it came to former President Donald Trump.
In an appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," McCarthy told host Maria Bartiromo that Democrats used impeachment for "political reasons" when Trump was in office but said Republicans are "not going to use it for political purposes."
"Look, one thing we learned that the Democrats did is they used impeachment for political reasons," McCarthy said.
"We believe in the rule of law," he continued. "We’re not going to pick and choose just because somebody has power. We’re going to uphold the law. At any time, if someone breaks the law and the ramification becomes impeachment, we would move towards that, but we’re not going to use it for political purposes."
House Democrats were able to impeach Trump twice – one for a controversial phone call in which he allegedly asked Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden and another for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capital riot – before the Senate acquitted the 45th president in each instance.
And while Biden has also faced articles of impeachment brought by Republicans since taking office last year over failed policies on issues like the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan and the crisis at the southern border, the articles have not been brought to the House Floor as the chamber is controlled by Democrats.
McCarthy claimed that Republicans are looking to mitigate the political tensions in Washington but did not dismiss the possibility of impeachment if Biden's policies warranted such a move.
"Our focus is going to be securing our border, making us energy independent, bringing these prices down, making our schools and streets safe again, and holding this administration accountable," he said. "And we will take the facts to wherever the facts go because America's been through too much with people playing politics with the concept of impeachment. But if it rises to that level, we would have the law determine that."
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