The Republican-led United States House of Representatives has voted to formally authorize its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. On Wednesday, lawmakers voted 221-212 in favor of the resolution, with every Republican voting in favor and every member of Biden's Democratic Party against.

The decision to hold a vote came after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and his team faced mounting pressure to demonstrate progress in the yearlong probe into the business dealings of Biden's family members. The vote took place hours after Biden's son, Hunter Biden, defied a congressional subpoena by refusing to testify behind closed doors, stating concerns that his words might be misrepresented.

An impeachment inquiry is a formal investigation into possible wrongdoing by a federal official, such as the president. It is a first step towards a potential impeachment, which means bringing charges against an official. While the House of Representatives has the power to impeach, the Senate is responsible for conviction and removal from office.

Notably, no president has ever been forced out of the White House through impeachment. Joe Biden now becomes the eighth president to face an impeachment inquiry, following in the footsteps of Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump, who were all impeached but ultimately acquitted or not convicted.

The House of Representatives initiated the impeachment inquiry in September, but the process has now been formalized with the recent vote. Prior to the vote, Republicans who were initially hesitant to support the impeachment push due to lack of concrete evidence have shifted their position, arguing that authorizing the inquiry will enhance their legal standing and encourage full cooperation from the White House in the investigation.

Republican lawmakers have accused President Biden and his family of profiting from his time as vice president through his son's business activities in Ukraine and China. They have pointed to allegations of "influence peddling" and "pay-to-play" schemes. Democrats, on the other hand, have highlighted that the Justice Department had previously investigated these claims under the Trump administration and found insufficient evidence to pursue them further.

As the impeachment inquiry progresses, congressional investigators have already obtained thousands of pages of subpoenaed bank records and testimony from key witnesses, including officials from the Department of Justice tasked with examining Hunter Biden's business dealings.

Although the impeachment effort is unlikely to result in President Biden's removal, analysts suggest that the process could serve as a platform for Republicans to highlight allegations of corruption throughout the 2024 election campaign. Additionally, authorizing the inquiry grants the three Republican-controlled House committees leading the investigation the power to subpoena documents and enforce those requests through judicial means.

President Biden responded to the vote by criticizing Republicans, stating, "Instead of doing anything to help make Americans' lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies… this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts."

The impeachment inquiry into President Biden will undoubtedly continue to be a heavily debated and closely watched process in the coming months.