In a 342-72 vote, the House referred a motion to impeach embattled IRS commissioner John Koskinen to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
One hundred and sixty-six Republicans joined 167 Democrats to squash House Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan’s attempt to oust the government official.
“The majority of the House voted to refer this matter to the Judiciary Committee consistent with regular order because it would have triggered automatic consideration lasting into next year, filling up weeks of floor time and crippling our ability to hit the ground running on Trump administration confirmations and Obamacare repeal,” House Speaker Paul Ryan’s spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement.
Koskinen is slated to be termed out of his position in November 2017, so it’s unclear whether Congress will come to a consensus on how to move forward with the situation within the next year.
House Judiciary chairman Bob Goodlatte said Congress needs time to address “differences of opinion” on whether to impeach or censure him while speaking on the House floor Wednesday.
While Jordan said he would have preferred the House moved forward with impeachment procedures, he has not given up hope action will be taken during the 115th Congress.
“Maybe we’ll start it in the next Congress,” Jordan told reporters. “We’ll see.”
Koskinen was appointed to his position in 2013 by President Barack Obama in the wake of the IRS conservative targeting scandal.
Conservative members in the House have alleged Koskinen lied to Congress and failed to comply with subpoenas, citing his missteps as reason for impeachment.
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