Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has called for a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, following pressure from his party's right flank. McCarthy's announcement has further divided lawmakers as they struggle to pass legislation to avoid a government shutdown. Many Republicans were infuriated by the impeachments of former President Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021, accusing Biden of profiting from his son Hunter Biden's foreign business ventures while serving as vice president.

McCarthy has directed House committees to open the inquiry, citing a "culture of corruption" around the Biden family, although no substantiation has been presented. The White House has dismissed the impeachment push as politically motivated, and Biden himself mocked the idea, suggesting that Republicans may seek to impeach him over declining inflation rates. Any impeachment effort is unlikely to succeed, as it would require a simple majority in the House, where Republicans hold a narrow margin, and a two-thirds majority in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Former President Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice, with both attempts resulting in acquittal. The first impeachment charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, while the second accused him of inciting an insurrection following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.