House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that he believes Republicans have the votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland accountable for contempt of Congress, even as some Republican lawmakers refuse to make their position known. on the controversial subject.
“I think the Merrick Garland snub will pass, and we look forward to getting that vote out,” Johnson said at a news conference.
The House speaker’s confidence comes amid doubts about whether Republicans have enough support to pass the resolution.
Two sources familiar with the internal conversations previously told The Hill that at least five Republicans expressed opposition to the vote to hold Garland in contempt of Congress.
Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Garret Graves (R-La.) have not said how they plan to vote on the contempt resolution Wednesday morning.
Republicans can only lose two of their members on any partisan measures if all lawmakers are present.
House GOP leaders are, however, moving forward with the vote, which is scheduled for about 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
House Republicans moved to hold Garland in contempt of Congress nearly a month ago after the attorney general refused to turn over the audio recording of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees — which tabled contempt resolutions for Garland last month — have a transcript of Biden’s conversations with Hur. Furthermore, the president claimed executive privilege over the audio, which largely provides Garland with legal cover, as the assertion is generally considered to preclude any lawsuit over the covered materials.
The Justice Department argued that releasing the audio to the committee could diminish cooperation in future investigations if the individuals do not want their conversations turned over to Congress.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
