WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican — including Rep. John Duarte (R-Hughson) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-El Dorado Hills), both of whom represent portions of Turlock — rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president.

The 221-212 party-line vote put the entire House Republican conference on record in support of an impeachment process that can lead to the ultimate penalty for a president: punishment for what the Constitution describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which can lead to removal from office if convicted in a Senate trial.

“Today, I voted in favor of launching an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” Duarte said in a press statement. “This does not mean I endorse an impeachment of the president. This resolution just enables the House Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Accountability committees, that have already established the need for this inquiry, to formally investigate whether President Biden committed high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Former Assemblymember Adam Gray (D-Merced), who is challenging Duarte for the District 13 seat in November after losing by just 564 votes in 2022, slammed Duarte’s decision as a waste of time.

“This vote is just more of the same dead-end political nonsense we’ve seen from do-nothing House Republicans,” said Gray. “A real moderate would be working on passing the farm bill or saving DACA, not playing political games. Instead, John Duarte talks out of both sides of his mouth, saying he'd rather not impeach, but then votes to start an impeachment. Do something people actually care about and stop wasting our time.” 

Duarte’s position, which was posted on X (formerly Twitter), drew mostly negative reactions:

* “More time wasted. What has been accomplished this year. Looks like we need some changes next election.”

* “I thought maybe John Duarte was different, but he’s joined MAGA.”

* “A waste of our time and our taxpayer dollars on a wild goose chase … you only won by less than a 1,000 votes, John, this is a very easily flippable district, sir …”

* “… You just endorsed impeaching President Biden. And, you do not even know why.”

Among the few posts of support was one saying “Good job. Now close the border.”

Biden, in a rare statement about the impeachment effort, questioned the priorities of House Republicans in pursuing an inquiry against him and his family.

“Instead of doing anything to help make Americans’ lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies,” the president said following the vote. “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 that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.”

Authorizing the months-long inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump — who was twice impeached during his time in the White House. Trump has pushed his GOP allies in Congress to move swiftly on impeaching Biden, part of his broader calls for vengeance and retribution against his political enemies.

McClintock, an eight-term congressman who represents the 5th district and faces a far less precarious path to reelection than Duarte, was more succinct in his remarks.

“Short of declaring war, impeachment is the most serious act that Congress can take. It must be confined to the narrow grounds established by the constitution, and never used to settle political differences,” said McClintock from the House floor. “But the Democrats would have us simply turn a blind eye to mounting evidence of a family influence-peddling scheme that implicates the president. This we cannot do. We owe it to the country to get to the bottom of these allegations, and that requires the House to objectively invoke its full investigatory powers, respect the due process rights of all involved, and lay all of the facts before the American people.”

Earlier this month, McClintock voted against expelling Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), even though Santos faced a 23-count federal indictment charging him with crimes such as wire fraud and money laundering. About his vote against Santos’ expulsion, McClintock said, “Given the heightened political passions that are afoot these days, I think we should resist expanding the traditional grounds for expulsion and trust our justice system and our citizens to resolve the issue, as surely they will.”

Santos was expelled by a vote of 311-114.

The decision to hold a vote came as Speaker Mike Johnson and his team faced growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden’s family members. While their investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president.

“We do not take this responsibility lightly and will not prejudge the investigation’s outcome,” Johnson (R-La.) and his leadership team said in a joint statement after the vote. “But the evidentiary record is impossible to ignore.”

House Democrats stood in united opposition to the inquiry resolution Wednesday, calling it a farce perpetrated by those across the aisle to avenge the two impeachments against Trump.

“This whole thing is an extreme political stunt. It has no credibility, no legitimacy, and no integrity. It is a sideshow,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said during a floor debate.

Some House Republicans, particularly those hailing from politically divided districts, had been hesitant in recent weeks to take any vote on Biden’s impeachment, fearing a significant political cost. But GOP leaders have made the case in recent weeks that the resolution is only a step in the process, not a decision to impeach Biden. That message seems to have won over skeptics.

“As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) a member of the GOP leadership team, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Emmer said Republicans “will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, and if they uncover evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then and only then will the next steps towards impeachment proceedings be considered.”

Most of the Republicans reluctant to back the impeachment push have also been swayed by leadership’s recent argument that authorizing the inquiry will give them better legal standing as the White House has questioned the legal and constitutional basis for their requests for information.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.