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Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as lawmakers voted along party lines. House members voted 221 to 212 to legitimize the ongoing Republican-led inquiry into the Biden family's alleged foreign business dealings. Republicans have argued that formalization was necessary after the White House called document requests unconstitutional without a vote.
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"We're very pleased with the vote today," said House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky. "I think that it's a message loud and clear to the White House. We expect you to comply."
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol following the vote that the authorized inquiry should "help us get those key individuals in to speak to use in a more timely fashion."
"The House has now spoken and I think pretty loudly, pretty clearly with every single Republican voting in favor of moving into this official impeachment inquiry phase," Jordan added.
In a statement after the vote, President Biden blasted House Republicans for what he called a "baseless political stunt."
"Instead of doing anything to help make Americans' lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies," Biden said. "Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt."
While the House authorized the inquiry into the president, Republican leadership made it clear that the vote does not mean automatic impeachment.
"We're not going to prejudge the outcome of this because we can't," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday. "It's not a political calculation. We're following the law and we are the rule of law team and I'm going to hold to that."
Wednesday's vote came hours after Hunter Biden defied a request to testify in the impeachment inquiry against his father.
Hunter Biden spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes to Capitol Hill, saying he was prepared to testify in front of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committee, but only in public. The private deposition is part of the House's impeachment investigation against the president.
"I am here to testify at a public hearing today, to answer the committee's questions," Hunter Biden said.
Hunter Biden admitted that he "made mistakes" in his personal life, he accused Republicans of trying to "dehumanize me all to embarrass and damage my father. For six years, I have been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting 'Where's Hunter?' Well, here is my answer, I am here."
Republicans had rejected his offer to testify in public and said they would move forward to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Since reclaiming the House in January, Republicans have intensified their scrutiny of Joe Biden's family business dealings in an effort to appease hardline party members who accuse the president of abuse of power.
But the effort has remained stuck after failing to garner enough votes among Republicans in committee to bring the impeachment issue before the full chamber. However, more moderates came on board after the White House indicated subpoenas seeking testimony and other potential evidence were illegitimate without a formal House vote to authorize the probe.
Republicans maintain that the impeachment inquiry will help them get to the bottom of whether the Bidens ever enriched themselves through deals made by Hunter Biden, when he served on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma from 2014 to 2019.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who has been one of the more vocal advocates for impeaching Biden, also acknowledged the slim chances of the inquiry resulting in the president's ouster, saying "I don't think we have the votes to impeach anyone."
The probe, launched Sept. 12 by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has been focused on drawing a connection between Biden and unethical business practices by his son, Hunter Biden, while working with Burisma.
Previously, Republicans called the impeachment effort necessary to obtain official documents and bank records from Joe Biden to determine whether he had taken foreign bribes to help his son, however, there has been no evidence so far to indicate that the president broke the law, while he continues to deny any wrongdoing.
In his short time as speaker, Johnson has staunchly defended the probe while expressing confidence that the latest resolution would pass despite the recent removal of New York Rep. George Santos, which left the GOP with a thinner three-vote majority in the chamber.
Democrats, meanwhile, accuse Republicans of "exacting political retribution on behalf of Donald Trump," said House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
"It's painfully obvious that they are trying to hurt President Biden politically to help President Trump get reelected," Aguilar added.
Adding to the fallout, Hunter Biden was indicted a second time last week on three felonies and six misdemeanor tax offenses after he allegedly failed to pay his taxes, failed to file his tax returns and filed fraudulent tax returns -- which were the same issues that drew scrutiny from Republicans.
