Will Mitt Romney Block Republicans' Move To Subpoena Bidens?

With former Vice President Joe Biden surging back into first place among the Democratic primary contenders, Republicans are once again pushing to open their investigation into Biden and his son. These plans might not make it too far, however, as Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, may move to block subpoenas aimed at the presidential hopeful.

Understandably, Romney is concerned that opening such a probe would not look good for Republicans.

“There’s no question but that the appearance of looking into Burisma and Hunter Biden appears political. And I think people are tired of these kinds of political investigations,” Romney told Fox News.

Although Romney hasn’t explicitly said he’d block subpoenas aimed at the Bidens, it would hardly come as a surprise. And without Romney on board, Republicans might not be able to get their probe.

Sen. Mitch McConnell said Thursday night that although he won't be directing the probe, he trusts Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who will be handling the process, that he "very responsible, not inclined to be overly partisan on everything that comes along."

Romney sits on the Governmental Affairs Committee, one congressional body required to sign off on potential subpoenas. While Republicans hold an 8-to-6 majority there, Romney could well join Democrats to block the subpoenas, creating a tie.

Last year, President Donald Trump allegedly sought to have authorities in Ukraine open an investigation into Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, and his time while serving on the board of energy company Burisma. Trump and his allies have accused the Bidens of using the Office of the Vice President to land Hunter his position with Burisma.

This eventually formed the basis for Trump’s impeachment by the House, a process that ultimately resulted in a Senate trial. The president was later acquitted, with the Republican-dominated Senate voting down party lines, with one exception: Mitt Romney.

Romney was the lone Republican to vote to convict Trump, a move that drew the ire of his party and resulted in him being uninvited from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month. And, unsurprisingly, his vote reignited a long-standing animosity between him and the president.

Since the impeachment process began, Trump and his allies have maintained that the Bidens engaged in corrupt activity in Ukraine and had sought to tie this aspect to the impeachment process. While this largely failed to happen, in the trial’s final days, Hill Republicans made it clear that they intended to seek political retribution by going after the Bidens and investigating the Ukraine whistleblower.