House GOP seizes on Biden’s vulnerabilities while Democrats mull president’s future

Republican lawmakers are going all in with their attacks against President Joe Biden, seizing on his vulnerabilities and hoping to weaken him further as a candidate as Democrats openly consider whether to replace him at the top of the ticket.

House Republicans are preparing to attack Biden from all sides over the coming weeks, hoping to deal some fatal blows as the president must first focus on convincing his own party he can remain their nominee. The efforts come as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to step aside, something the president has remained adamant he will not do.

Those calls could threaten to weaken Biden even further, one Democratic lawmaker warned on Monday, arguing the party could risk losing the White House if lawmakers continue to question Biden’s viability publicly ahead of the election.

“Regardless of where one stands on the question of President Biden’s political future, the intra-party mixed messaging strikes me as deeply self-destructive,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said in a statement. “The drip, drip, drip of public statements of no confidence only serve to weaken a President who has been weakened not only by the debate but also by the debate about the debate. Weakening a weakened nominee seems like a losing strategy for a presidential election.”

Here are three ways House Republicans are going on offense against Biden’s candidacy on Capitol Hill:

GOP calls on Harris to remove Biden via 25th Amendment

Shortly after Biden’s debate performance in which he stumbled over his talking points and repeatedly lost his train of thoughts, Republicans sounded the alarm that not only should Biden drop out of the 2024 race but he also should be removed immediately.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) quickly filed a resolution the day after the debate that would compel Vice President Kamala Harris to convene the president’s Cabinet and activate Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare Biden “incapable of executing the duties of his office.” In doing so, Harris would then succeed Biden as acting president.

Meanwhile, it appears Roy has support from House GOP leaders, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who told reporters that Biden’s Cabinet should begin having conversations about the president’s ability to carry out the remainder of his term.

Harris has emerged as the most likely replacement for Biden should he be removed from the ticket, throwing her into the crossfire of GOP attacks.

Roy has also made the argument Harris should be impeached, claiming the vice president lied about Biden’s mental capacity to carry out his presidential duties — violating her “unique constitutional obligation” to invoke the 25th Amendment.

It’s not yet clear when Roy would call for a vote on his resolution, but the Texas Republican said he plans to speak with the House parliamentarian on steps to expedite the process.

Oversight demands testimony from Biden’s doctor

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced on Sunday he would be seeking testimony from Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, regarding the president’s “declining mental state.”

The request comes in response to conflicting information from the Biden White House about how recently the president was evaluated. The White House had been unclear about what checkups Biden may have had after his disastrous debate performance last month only heightened concerns over his age and acuity, but on Thursday confirmed that Biden had a check up after the debate.

Comer cited a report from O’Connor in February that Biden “remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency” and that it was not “recommended that [President] Biden take a cognitive test.”

“The Oversight Committee is concerned your medical assessments have been influenced by your private business endeavors with the Biden family,” Comer wrote in a letter to O’Connor, requesting information about the physician’s alleged involvement in a defunct healthcare company tied to the president’s brother.

“Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee also seeks to understand if you are in a position to provide accurate and independent reviews of the President’s fitness to serve,” Comer said.

The House Oversight Committee’s request also follows reports that the White House visitor logs showed Parkinson’s disease expert Dr. Kevin Cannard of the Walter Reed Medical Center met with O’Connor and two others at the White House residence clinic on Jan. 17, and appeared in visitor logs numerous times.

White House spokesman Ian Sams downplayed Comer’s request: “Here they go again, pushing their crazy, discredited conspiracy theories in order to score another hit on [Fox News’s Maria] Bartiromo. If extreme House Republicans want to take a look at a White House physician, here’s an idea for where to start.”

O’Connor has until July 14 to respond to Congress.

Intelligence Committee raises questions about Hunter Biden’s presence in meetings

The House Intelligence Committee is seeking information from the Biden administration after it was reported that Biden‘s son Hunter “was in the room” as his father was preparing to deliver a prime-time address responding to the Supreme Court‘s opinion on presidential immunity.

Now committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) is demanding answers from the White House‘s chief of staff on what if any classified information was discussed in those meetings.

“According to news reporting, the President’s son’s sudden presence at official meetings has caused confusion for some White House staff, prompting a reaction of ‘What the hell is happening?’” Turner wrote.

The White House defended Hunter Biden’s presence, arguing the president’s family was in town for the July Fourth holiday.

“Hunter came back with him and walked with him into that meeting, that prep, that speech prep, and you know, and he ended up spending time with his dad and his family that night,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last week. “That is basically what happened.”

“What I can say is that he came back with his dad from Camp David,” she said. “He walked him into the speech prep. He was in the room.”

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Hunter Biden’s presence has raised concerns among House Republicans, who are currently investigating the president’s son and other family members over foreign business dealings. Republicans have especially targeted Hunter Biden due to the fact he used to sit on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian company.

Hunter Biden was also recently found guilty of all three charges he was facing related to a 2018 gun purchase.

Naomi Lim contributed to this report.