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As House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s anti-Biden crusade has failed spectacularly, it was only natural to wonder about the reactions from his GOP colleagues. Were they ignoring reality and pretending that Comer was succeeding, or did they recognize the Kentucky Republican’s fiasco?
There’s ample reason to believe the latter. The Messenger reported:
House Republicans are increasingly disenchanted with Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., saying his leadership of the Biden impeachment inquiry has become a “clueless investigation” at best and — at worst — “a disaster.” Less than 10 months away from the 2024 election, his impeachment investigation is barreling toward its conclusion, with no smoking gun to bring the president to his knees. Only one thing is clear: Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has lost the trust of some in his own party.
The report quoted one unnamed House Republican saying of the Oversight Committee’s anti-Biden effort, “It’s been a parade of embarrassments.” Another added, “James Comer continues to embarrass himself and House Republicans. He screws up over and over and over.”
One of Donald Trump’s personal allies said, “Comer has cast a wide net and caught very little fish. That is a big problem for him.”
Making matters worse, this isn’t the first time the beleaguered committee chairman has heard such talk.
In September, after Comer’s first impeachment inquiry hearing, there was bipartisan consensus that the discussion was an embarrassing fiasco.
One senior Republican staffer described the proceedings as “an unmitigated disaster.” Another conceded that Comer and his staff “botched this bad.” Steve Bannon, meanwhile, slammed GOP members for being unprepared, while one of his guests said House Republicans “don’t know what they’re doing at all.”
A senior GOP aide told Politico, “People are just not happy.”
Evidently, they’re still not happy.
It’s possible that the Kentucky congressman might try to defend himself, though I’m not sure how. The truth is Comer really has played fast and loose with transcribed interviews. He really has set his credibility on fire. He really has made bold promises during appearances on conservative media, and then failed to follow through. He really has held hearings that undermined his own partisan efforts and released ostensible “evidence” filled with factual errors.
And, of course, Comer really has failed spectacularly to find any credible evidence against his intended target.
I can blame House Republicans for all sorts of things, but I won’t blame them for turning against their hapless House Oversight Committee chair.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.