Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat, gave a sarcastic response when asked about the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, when a reporter asked Mr Fetterman for a reaction to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement that he would launch an impeachment inquiry into the president, the Pennsylvania Democrat responded, “Oh my god, really?” while grabbing his head and taking a step backward.
“Oh my gosh,” Mr Fetterman said, “It’s devastating.”
He then laughed and wiggled his fingers toward the reporter’s camera, while giving eerie ghost noises sarcastically.
“Don’t do it. Please don’t do it,” Senator Fetterman added in the same mocking tone.
He then walked away, looking at the camera once more and saying, “Oh no! Oh no!”
Mr Fetterman also separately, and seriously, referred to the move as a “bogus impeachment.”
The Pennsylvania senator has made no secret of his opinions of the inquiry. Last week, he dared House Republicans to go forward with the move. “Go ahead. Do it, I dare you,” Mr Fetterman told reporters. “If you can find the votes [in the House], go ahead, because you’re going to lose [in the Senate]. It’s a loser.”
Adding some visual imagery, Mr Fetterman described the then potential impeachment inquiry: “It would just be like a big circlejerk on the fringe right.”
Mr McCarthy announced on Tuesday that the House investigations into the Biden family over the course of this year have uncovered a “culture of corruption,” which call for further review.
“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption,” the House Speaker added.
The investigation will proceed ahead of the already contentious 2024 presidential race. The inquiry will revolve around House Republicans trying to connect the president to the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden.
Mr Fetterman isn’t alone in thinking Mr McCarthy’s announcement was somewhat of a joke. New York Democratic Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent, “I mean, I think he’s making a joke of himself.”
She added, “What I find most amusing is that he has opened an impeachment inquiry, and it seems as though they are opening an inquiry into themselves as to why they’re even trying to impeach President Biden.”
In the wake of the announcement, California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff said the impeachment inquiry was “based on the weakness of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.”
Mr Schiff also added on Tuesday night that Mr McCarthy’s motivation to launch the inquiry was “What do I need to do to stay Speaker one more day?” He added that he thinks the House Speaker “stands for nothing.”
Others have insisted that the impeachment inquiry is intended to deflect from former President Donald Trump’s ongoing legal battles — and perhaps the fact that he is the only president to have been impeached twice.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, called the inquiry “illegitimate” and a “distraction.” He added, “Extreme MAGA Republicans are doing the bidding of their puppet master-in-chief, Donald Trump. When Donald Trump says jump, the extreme MAGA Republicans say how high.”
The Biden-Harris campaign also blasted Mr McCarthy’s move, with a spokesperson calling it a “baseless impeachment inquiry.” The spokesperson also dubbed the House Speaker “Trump campaign’s super-surrogate” who has turned the House into “an arm of his presidential campaign.”
