House Freedom Caucus members try to impeach IRS commissioner

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House Republicans move to impeach IRS chief Koskinen

Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Congress was misled about the agency's targeting scandal

The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus filed a resolution Wednesday night to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

So far, the resolution is not “privileged,” which means it would move to the head of the legislative line and entail an almost-immediate vote (or effort to kill it) on the House floor.

Reps. John Fleming, R-La., and Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., filed the resolution to impeach Koskinen.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus threatened to bypass the House GOP leadership, which has not been receptive to the idea of trying to impeach Koskinen.

Congressional Republicans have sought to impeach Koskinen over grounds he intentionally ignored and “lied” to Congress about the agency’s 2010 targeting scandal.

The resolution is now expected to linger over the lengthy summer recess into September, and perhaps require the House GOP leadership to make a decision on how to deal with the resolution in the fall.

Last July, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., crafted an unprecedented, non-binding resolution to declare the Speaker’s chair vacant. Congress then left Washington for the August recess.

In the end, Meadows' tactic worked, as then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, later resigned.