House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, with a Republican majority, failed to pass a resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Thursday. The vote was 204-210, with four Republicans joining Democrats in opposition to the resolution.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida introduced the resolution, seeking to hold Garland in “inherent contempt” over his refusal to release audio tapes of President Joe Biden’s interviews with Special Counsel Robert Hur. Despite the resolution’s failure, Luna refiled the motion to fine Garland $10,000 per day until the tapes are made public.
Four Republicans – Tom McClintock and John Duarte of California, Mike Turner and David Joyce of Ohio – voted with Democrats against the resolution. Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, who missed the vote due to attending his father’s funeral, expressed regret over not being able to cast his vote in support of the resolution.
In February, Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded a federal investigation into Biden’s mishandling of classified material, stating that the president was too senile to face felony charges due to his deteriorating mental state. The investigation found Biden struggling to recall past events, including his time as vice president, and exhibiting memory lapses during the snap White House press conference following the report’s release.
Biden’s cognitive decline has been a subject of public concern, with House Republicans suing the Department of Justice last week to compel the release of the audio recordings of his October interviews with Hur. The transcripts of the interviews have been made public, but the audio recordings remain concealed by the department.
The Democratic Party’s leadership has also begun to express concerns over Biden’s performance, with Axios reporting that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is now “open to dumping Biden in 2024.” The report cites private discussions between Schumer and other Democratic leaders, who believe the party needs a fresh candidate to succeed in the upcoming election.
