Conservative House Republicans on Wednesday introduced a resolution to impeach Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen, something they hope can get a vote this week before Congress leaves for an extended summer break.
The resolution was introduced by Reps. John Fleming, R-La., and Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., a move that was welcomed by Freedom Caucus Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
“I thank my colleagues John Fleming and Tim Huelskamp for their resolution to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen,” he said. “Mr. Koskinen has failed the American people through gross negligence, dereliction of duty, and violating the public trust.”
Members of the House Freedom Caucus had been considering pushing for a vote this week, the last week before an extended summer break.
Fleming told the Washington Examiner this week that members of the group were thinking of bringing up a privileged resolution on Thursday, with the hopes of forcing a vote on the matter.
A vote would go against the wishes of House GOP leaders, who are looking to advance an agenda aimed at convincing people to vote Republican this year.
But the IRS has been a sore point for many conservative lawmakers, especially after the scandal in which the IRS admitted it slow-walked tax-exempt status applications for conservative groups.
Republicans also say Koskinen oversaw the IRS when it lost emails and other key data related to the targeting scandal.
“With two subpoenas and three preservation orders in place, under Mr. Koskinen’s watch the IRS destroyed 422 backup tapes containing potentially 24,000 emails relevant to the IRS targeting of conservative organizations,” Jordan said. “This is unacceptable.”
A House vote to impeach Koskinen would only need a majority vote, which could happen given Republican opposition to his leadership at the IRS.
After that, the Senate would consider it, and a vote to convict would mean Koskinen’s removal from office.
