What’s an impeachment inquiry and what’s next for President Joe Biden?

The Republican-led United States House of Representatives has voted to formally authorise its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Up until this point, the House had not had enough votes to legitimise the ongoing inquiry, but on Wednesday, lawmakers voted 221-212 in favour, with every Republican voting for it and every member of Biden’s Democratic Party against.

The decision to hold a vote came as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and his team faced growing pressure to demonstrate progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe into the business dealings of Biden’s family members.

The vote took place hours after his son Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena by failing to appear for a private deposition at the House of Representatives. He refused to testify behind closed doors, saying he would testify only in public because he feared his words would otherwise be misrepresented.

Here is what you need to know:

An impeachment inquiry is a formal investigation into possible wrongdoing by a federal official, such as the president, cabinet officials or judges.

The process is written into the US Constitution and is the most powerful check that Congress has on the executive branch. It is a first step towards a potential impeachment, which means essentially that charges are brought against an official.

The US founders included impeachment in the constitution as an option for the removal of presidents, vice presidents and civil officers. Under the constitution, they can be removed from office for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours”.

While the House of Representatives wields the power to impeach an official, only the Senate has the ability to convict and remove an individual from office. This played out recently when former President Donald Trump was impeached twice by the House but acquitted in the Senate.