- Four in 10, 42%, foresee “more partisan gridlock” if the GOP gets the House under Biden.
- Most respondents say they thought a GOP-controlled House would investigate Hunter Biden.
- Americans are inclined to doubt that House Republicans would seriously consider impeaching Joe Biden.
Get ready for gridlock?
Voters have low expectations of what Republicans will be able to do if they win a majority in the House of Representatives in November’s elections, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds.
Four in 10, 42%, foresee “more partisan gridlock with nothing getting done” if power is divided between a GOP-controlled House and a Democratic president. Just 19% say that situation would force more bipartisanship.
Another 25% predict “nothing will change” from the last two years.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report on Thursday estimated the GOP would gain from 12 to 25 seats, well over the five needed to take control of the House, and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California last month unveiled a “Commitment to America” agenda if they succeed. Their promises include reining in government spending, cracking down on crime and controlling illegal immigration, although they have provided limited details about exactly how they would achieve those goals.
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In the poll, one prospective action was predicted across party lines: that Republicans would use their new powers in a majority to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Seventy-five percent predicted that would happen; just 17% said it wouldn’t.
A 52% majority of those surveyed think an investigation would be warranted, including 84% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats.
Hunter Biden, who has written a book about his struggles with substance abuse, has been under investigation by the Justice Department about allegations involving his business dealings, compliance with tax laws and other issues.
What about impeaching his father?
Americans are inclined to doubt that House Republicans would seriously consider impeaching Joe Biden. Half of those surveyed, 50%, predict they wouldn’t; 42% predict they would.
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The politics of impeachment would be complicated. By more than 2-1, 66%-28%, voters oppose the idea. But in what could create crosscurrents for GOP leaders, Republicans by 54%-39% support it.
The poll of 1,000 likely midterm voters, taken by landline and cell phone Oct. 19-24, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Four years ago, just before the 2018 midterms, voters saw the possible impeachment of the sitting president as more likely than they do today. In a USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll in October, 2018, 54% predicted a Democratic-controlled House would impeach then-president Trump. By 54%-39%, they opposed the idea.
As it turned out, Democrats won control of the House that November, and they proceeded to pass Articles of Impeachment against Trump not once but twice.
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