Johnson predicts House will hold Garland in contempt of Congress

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday he believes Republicans have the votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, even as some GOP lawmakers refuse to disclose where they stand on the contentious matter.

“I do think the contempt of Merrick Garland will pass on the floor, and we’re anxious to have that vote,” Johnson said at a press conference.

The Speaker’s confidence comes as some question 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 have expressed opposition to voting to hold Garland in contempt of Congress. 

Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Garret Graves (R-La.) would not say how they plan to vote on the contempt resolution Wednesday morning.

Republicans can only afford to lose two of their members on any party-line measures if all lawmakers are in attendance.

House GOP leaders are, nonetheless, plowing ahead with the vote, which is scheduled for around 3:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

House Republicans moved to hold Garland in contempt of Congress nearly a month ago, after the attorney general refused to hand over the audio recording of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

The House Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary committees — which advanced the Garland contempt resolutions last month — have a transcript of Biden’s conversations with Hur. Additionally, the president claimed executive privilege over the audio, which largely provides legal cover to Garland as the assertion is generally considered to foreclose any prosecution over the covered materials.

The Justice Department has argued that releasing the audio to the committee could decrease cooperation in future investigations if individuals do not want their conversations given to Congress.