- McConnell was asked at Kentucky event on Wednesday whether Biden's behavior is impeachable.
- "The president's not going to be removed from office," he said, pointing to Democratic control of Congress.
- Some GOP members of Congress have floated the idea of impeaching Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Speaking at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell shut down the notion that President Joe Biden would be impeached anytime soon.
"Well, look, the president's not going to be removed from office," McConnell replied when asked whether Biden's behavior was impeachable.
McConnell pointed to the political reality of Democratic control of the federal government, rather than answering the question directly. "It's a Democratic House, narrowly Democratic Senate, that's not going to happen," he said.
-Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) September 1, 2021
The minority leader instead pivoted to a more immediate task at hand for Republicans in Congress: blocking Biden's legislative agenda. He also reminded the attendees that the incumbent president's party almost always loses seats in Congress, adding: "In this country, the report card you get is every two years."
"Most of you are not political junkies, you've got better things to do than that," McConnell continued. "But you'll be interested in one statistic: only twice in American history – only twice – has the president gained seats in Congress two years into the first term."
Biden, who this week declared the end of the US's nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan, has faced fierce criticism from Republicans over the withdrawal efforts. Sen. Lindsey Graham floated the idea of impeachment amid the withdrawal, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's introduced articles of impeachment for the same reason.
-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) August 20, 2021
Sen. Rick Scott, on the other hand, has called for Biden's cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office.
-Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) August 27, 2021