Hunter Biden investigations: Republicans welcome probes into president's son, Dems decry 'misuse of power'

Republicans Thursday touted plans from incoming GOP committee chairs to investigate Hunter Biden, as Democrats decried the emphasis on President Biden's son, saying the focus is misplaced.

Rep. Jim Comer. R-Ky., announced the planned investigations at a press conference with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Thursday morning. Comer is the incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee while Jordan will be the Judiciary Committee chairman in the new Congress.

Republicans over the past two years have been frustrated by Democratic lawmakers' lack of enthusiasm for opening probes into Biden's son, who is currently being investigated by the Delaware U.S. attorney over his business dealings. 

Comer and Jordan Tuesday said their committees' probes will go beyond Hunter Biden and focus on how the president may have been involved. 

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"Was Joe Biden involved with Hunter Biden's business deals and is he compromised?" Comer said. "That's our investigation."

"I think there are all kinds of questions that need to be answered. And we're determined to get there," Jordan said. 

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Comer and Jordan will have something key to congressional investigations – subpoena power. That will allow them to compel witnesses to testify and provide documents to their committees. But they are far from the first Republicans to raise alarms about Hunter Biden's business deals and history. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has spearheaded efforts to dig into Hunter Biden in the Senate since early 2021.

"Sen. Johnson and I have spent several years shining light on the Biden family’s foreign business entanglements, including multimillion-dollar deals with figures tied to the Chinese Communist Party," Grassley told Fox News Digital Thursday.

"We’ve shown our work in the form of public reports and the release of bank records and legal documents substantiating our findings," Grassley continued. "We intend to continue this investigation and our work thus far has established a detailed and precise roadmap for the new House majority, which will have new tools like subpoena authority."

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., meanwhile panned Democrats' lack of interest in Hunter Biden's dealings, and said the House Republicans have "some ground to make up and catching up to do."

"Majority Leader-elect Scalise fully supports the efforts outlined by Oversight ranking member Jamie Comer today," Lauren Fine, a spokeswoman for House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said. 

"His investigation will examine the serious questions and allegations surrounding Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and the potential risks his relationships pose to U.S. national security," Fine added. "These concerns have largely been ignored, but House Republicans will get to the bottom of it."

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Democrats, meanwhile, argued that Republicans' focus on Hunter Biden on the day after the House majority was called for them by most news organizations shows that their priorities are misplaced. 

"I think Republicans are gonna have to figure out a way that the American people want to see them deliver on issues that they care about," Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital. "And I think that the election sent a message to all of us that they are tired of this constant bickering and… want to actually see us work together to fight for their priorities."

"It's a ridiculous misuse of time and power, and we'll see what the Republicans decide to do as they hold the House with the few votes that they have," Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said. 

"Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans’ top priority is to go after President Biden with politically-motivated attacks chock-full of long-debunked conspiracy theories," White House Counsel's office spokesman Ian Sams said. "President Biden is not going to let these political attacks distract him from focusing on Americans’ priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will join us in tackling them instead of wasting time and resources on political revenge."

But Republicans point to reports that the Justice Department is considering charging Hunter Biden, and the suspicious material on his laptop, as signs that an investigation is more than warranted. 

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"I think there's too much smoke out there to not be a little bit of fire," Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said. 

Fox News' Brianna McClelland, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Rich Edson contributed to this report.