Republican plans to force vote on impeaching IRS chief

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) is planning to give notice on his privileged resolution to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Tuesday, which would force the House to act on the measure next week.

{mosads}A spokeswoman for Fleming confirmed his plans to The Hill on Friday.

Once Fleming gives notice on the resolution, the House would have to vote on it within two legislative days. The House could vote to table the measure, vote to refer it to the House Judiciary Committee or vote on the substance of the bill.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has not expressed public enthusiasm about the impeachment effort, said Wednesday that the House GOP conference will have a meeting to discuss the issue next week and that lawmakers “are going to vote the way they want to vote on this.”

Fleming and other members of the House Freedom Caucus argue that Koskinen should be impeached because he impeded congressional investigations into 2013 revelations that the IRS had subjected to extra scrutiny conservative groups’ applications for tax-exempt status. Koskinen became head of the IRS after the revelations came out.

But there are a number of Republican lawmakers who said they do not support a floor vote on impeaching Koskinen, particularly because the resolution did not go through the regular process.

Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said Thursday that he personally supports impeaching Koskinen but that there are a range of opinions on the topic within his group. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), co-chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group, said this week that he backed tabling the resolution or referring it to committee. 

Freedom Caucus members say that they still view a procedural vote as a vote on whether Koskinen should be held accountable for his actions.

“Someone who voted for a procedural vote to end the process will really be perceived as a no vote against impeachment,” Fleming told reporters Friday, according to Roll Call.