This article has been updated to include President Biden's response.
The House has voted to formally approve the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
On Wednesday, Republicans took a necessary step that they say is crucial to get the White House to comply with their investigation into the president.
In a 221 to 212 vote, every Republican voted in favor of the measure, with all present Democrats voting against it.
“We are now at a pivotal moment in our investigation. We will soon depose and interview several members of the Biden family and their associates about these influence-peddling schemes. But we are facing obstruction from the White House," Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY.) said on the House floor ahead of the vote. “The White House is seeking to block key testimony from current and former White House staff. It is also withholding thousands of records from Joe Biden’s time as Vice President. President Biden must be held accountable for his lies, corruption, and obstruction. We have a duty to provide the accountability and transparency that Americans demand and deserve."
The impeachment inquiry has been part of a months-long probe led by the GOP who have been investigating Biden, claiming he has used his political power to make his family billions through shady foreign businesses.
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The vote comes as Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is currently under federal investigation for tax and firearm-related charges.
In response, Biden called the impeachment inquiry "baseless" and accused Republicans of preventing his administration from taking action to solve the crisis at the southern border.
"The American people need their leaders in Congress to take action on important priorities for the nation and world," Biden stated. "We need funding to strengthen border security, but Republicans in Congress won’t act to help. Instead of doing anything to help make Americans' lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies. Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts."
More from the Hill on the inquiry follows:
Earlier in the day, Hunter Biden — the president’s son who is at the center of many of the lines of inquiry — defied a GOP subpoena to appear for a deposition on Wednesday morning. Republicans leading the probe said that his refusal “reinforces the need for a formal vote.”
The resolution makes official an inquiry into Biden that has been underway for months, after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in September said that various GOP probes into the president would be under the umbrella of impeachment — but did not hold an official vote.
Republicans have said they moved to formalize the inquiry in part because the White House responded to document requests last month with a letter that argued their inquiry was unconstitutional due to the lack of a vote, citing a Trump-era legal opinion.
The multi-pronged impeachment inquiry includes deep dives into the personal and business finances of Biden family members, as well as heaping scrutiny on a Justice Department probe into Hunter Biden’s failure to pay taxes.
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