Mitch McConnell says Biden WON’T be impeached over his disastrous Afghan exit and the bombshell Ghani call and believes the ‘ballot box’ is the best way to hold him accountable
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threw cold water on growing Republican calls to impeach President Joe Biden, saying Wednesday there isn't going to be one in the Senate.
McConnell, who also sought to douse impeachment efforts in the Senate against President Donald Trump (there were two of them) spoke as a number of House Freedom Caucus members have demanded Biden's impeachment following the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan after the all of the U.S.-backed government.
But McConnell said the effort would be futile.
'Well, look the president is not going to be removed from office,' he said Tuesday.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. addresses the audience at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville, Ky., Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. He said President Biden 'is not going to be removed from office,' despite a wave of Republicans calling for his impeachment after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan
'I think the way these behaviors get adjusted in this country is at the ballot box,' he said, the Wall Street Journal reported. 'There isn't going to be an impeachment.'
His comments have come as House Republicans have been lining up to call for Biden's impeachment – although their efforts are likely doomed in the Democratic-controlled House and would face difficult odds in the 50-50 Senate.
It is a position that may be catching on among Republican voters. A new Rasmussen Reports survey has a majority 52 per cent likely voters saying Biden should resign over Afghanistan, with 39 per cent disagreeing and 9 per cent not sure. The firm's daily tracking poll had Biden's approval at a low of 42 per cent, with 56 disapproval.
'IF BIDEN REFUSES TO RESIGN, HE MUST BE IMPEACHED!' Tweeted Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) on August 30th, as the US pulled out its last troops from Afghanistan.
Rep. Lauren Boebert on Tuesday called for not only impeaching Biden, but also Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. She also wants to execute a parliamentary move to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
McConnell used similar language to try to weigh in against an ultimately failed impeachment effort in late 2019 – focusing on the low odds of success.
'The case is so darn weak coming from the House, he told Sean Hannity of Fox News. 'We know how it's going to end. There's no chance the president's going to be removed from office.'
Biden, right, pressed Ghani, left, to bring together the government's most prominent figures for a press conference. 'That will change perception, and that will change an awful lot I think'
Taliban forces rally to celebrate the withdrawal of US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 01 September 2021
Taliban forces patrol at a runway a day after U.S troops withdrawal from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 31, 2021
Taliban fighters arrive inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. military's withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021
McConnell also took steps that Democrats say were designed to squelch a second Trump impeachment after the Jan. 6th riot. That effort also failed.
His latest comments come even as Republicans blasted comments by Biden with former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani revealed in a July phone transcript.
The the transcript obtained by Reuters, Biden said the US would provide aid if Ghani could project to the world that he 'had a plan' for fighting the Taliban, while the Afghan army was being overrun.
Biden focused much of the call on Ghani's 'perception problem.'
'I need not tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things are not going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban,' Biden said. 'And there is a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.
Critics took the comments as an indication Biden knew the U.S. backed government was unsteady after he announced without conditions that he would withdraw U.S. troops.
'I'm disgusted that President Biden lied to the world to try to make everyone think the Taliban wasn't taking over, when he knew they were rapidly gaining power. His lies cost us 13 American lives and Biden abandoned our allies when they needed us most,' Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told DailyMail.com. She was referencing the 13 US troops killed in a suicide attack outside the Kabul airport.
''That is how Joe Biden treats the American people, too. He thinks he can read a pre-scripted, defensive speech and we will all go along with it. What a joke!' fumed Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
Families of the fallen U.S. service members were left disappointed by Joe Biden at the dignified transfer on Sunday. One sister of a fallen Marine yelled at the president: 'I hope you burn in hell! That was my brother!'
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