Republicans are set to take control of the House for the first time since Democrats flipped the lower chamber in 2018, and GOP lawmakers are preparing to introduce a drastic shift in priorities.
A Republican-led House is likely to drop several investigations opened by Democratic lawmakers over the last two years and instead begin probing their own interests — particularly those centered on President Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Party leaders have already vowed to investigate Hunter Biden’s financial dealings and any ties they may have to the president, as well as other inquiries, such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in late 2021.
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“This investigation will be a top priority,” said Rep. James Comer during a Thursday press conference providing an update to the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Hunter Biden. “This is an investigation of Joe Biden and why he lied to the American people about his knowledge and participation in his family’s international business schemes.”
However, not all voters are convinced Hunter Biden’s financial dealings should be of top priority.
Fewer than 30% of all voters say Hunter Biden should be a top priority for the next Congress to investigate, according to a recent Politico/Morning Consult poll. That sentiment was largely split along party lines, with just over half (52%) of Republicans expressing an interest in investigating the president’s son compared to just 7% of Democrats.
That opinion is especially true of swing voters in Georgia, where Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Herschel Walker are set to face off in a runoff election on Dec. 6 for the Peach State’s Senate seat. In a focus group hosted by market research firm Engagious, Georgia swing voters told researchers they didn’t find it necessary to investigate Hunter Biden.
“If it wasn’t Biden’s son, I don’t think anybody would give a damn,” one respondent noted.
“There’s so many more issues to focus on,” said another.
Hunter Biden’s business dealings have long been of interest to the Republican Party, first taking prominence during the 2020 election as the GOP sought to determine whether then-candidate Joe Biden benefited financially from his son’s transactions, pointing to national security concerns. Republicans have also hinted at other investigations they want to open once they have control of the lower chamber, including inquiries into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in late 2021 and the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Meanwhile, party leaders have indicated other Democratic-led investigations would be tossed to the back burner. The House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the classified White House documents found at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home is one example, as some Republicans have hinted the inquiry could be gutted.
“We’re just waiting to see what comes out of that,” Comer said. “That will not be a priority.”
However, not all GOP lawmakers are keen on the Biden investigations, suggesting instead that Republicans should focus on other issues that helped them get elected, such as crime and inflation. Some newly elected rank-and-file Republicans have voiced concerns about launching investigations that could be viewed as overtly partisan, particularly those who were elected in blue districts that Biden won in 2020.
